


You Said Never

by Kirferyan



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Kiyotaka Ishimaru Survives, Makoto Naegi is Bad at Feelings, Mystery, Redemption, Sorry Hiro but you kinda suck, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:09:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29450568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirferyan/pseuds/Kirferyan
Summary: The world they lived in was not perfect. There were so many things they couldn't do, so many things they failed to say before it was too late. Despite that, they fought on, doing whatever they could to get rid of the world Junko Enoshima wrought, and to live on in the name of those they had lost.It was only fitting that even that basic goal got flipped on its head.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi & Kirigiri Kyoko, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Genocider Syo | Genocide Jack & Naegi Komaru, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Maizono Sayaka & Naegi Makoto, Naegi Makoto & Togami Byakuya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Kyoko Kirigiri and the Death of all Sense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko and Hina go out for drinks. Life does not let them do only that.

**July 26th, 2017**

Kyoko did not know that bars served apple juice until right then.

"-and then Taka told me that eating so many donuts wasn't good for my health which is just NOT true, 'cause they give me all of these extra calories to burn! And so I explained that-" Hina rambled on, with Kyoko listening intently.

Kyoko honestly did not know why she gave so much importance to listening to the other woman's ranting. She was not investigating anything, she was not trying to extort any information out of Hina and she knew for a fact that Hina's rambling about the health benefits of doughnuts were completely unfounded and would not contribute absolutely anything to-

 _'Oh right'_ she remembered _'she's my friend'_

She turned off the logical part of her brain, something which said section of her psyche screeched at her for. Paranoid screeches which she paid little mind to. She was there and catch up with her best friend, not to solve JFK's Assassination.

She would probably never find a concrete, logical reason for listening to Hina's antics, and she didn't need one. This was her break, and this was her friend. If listening to her grand, erroneous thesis about how doughnuts were better than the Keto diet made Hina happy, then Kyoko would indulge her. It was the reason Kyoko enjoyed their chats as much as she did. She listened, no matter how ridiculous the topic was, and Hina did the same, despite being clearly unaware of the meaning behind half of what Kyoko said. It wasn't about the topics, and more about being there for each other. It was something she sought out of personal want, not professional need, and that is what made it so special. 

"-and, at the end of the day, Dunkin Donuts will never be a real donut chain." finished Hina "Anyways... how's Makoto?"

"I- Hina you two work together, you know perfectly well how he is doing" she responded, the slightest bit dumbfounded by the sudden question.

"Not that! I meant you two! How are you guys doing? Any... you know... advances?" she asked without making eye contact, finally taking a sip of the juice she had not laid a finger on due to her donut manifesto.

"...if you're asking whether we've engaged in intercourse, I would like to remind you that what me and Makoto do in private is not any of your business" Kyoko replied, making the other girl spit out her drink.

"WHAT?! NO!!" She quickly blurted out, her cheeks going a shade of red Kyoko was certain human anatomy did not allow "I mean like... I mean what you... when you... AH, FORGET IT!"

"Ok..." she said _'Hina can be... strange sometimes.'_ While she was curious about what Hina wanted to know about her relationship, how flustered Hina was at the moment meant it was something that would be awkward to talk about, so she would let it go for then. She normally would have sought the information out, or figured what her friend wanted to tell her on her own, but Kyoko was not in the mood to use her brain that day. In the slightest. _'I can always ask her another time.'_ She wrote that down mentally, while Hina quickly downed her drink in what Kyoko's barely active mind figured was either an undying love for apple juice or fear of Kyoko's words making her spit it out again.

"Anyway, want to hear about what I found in Toko's room while we were at Komaru's?" Kyoko asked, swiftly attempting to change the topic of conversation from whatever Hina had turned it into.

Hina's blush disappeared as her eyes became bright with excitement "Oh, you can bet on it!"

* * *

**Prologue:**

**Until Today, Never was the Only Answer**

**BEGIN**

* * *

After chatting about Toko's fanfiction, Kyoko's latest case, Hina's love for a mobile game called 'Sky Whale', and many other irrelevant yet entertaining subjects, they finally decided to leave. Kyoko paid, considering Hina did last time, they exited the establishment and started the walk back to hers and Makoto's apartment. Kyoko would have much preferred driving to and from the bar, but since it was Hina, and it was 'only' a twenty minute walk, they used their legs for travel.

It was calm in the streets, considering how this city was still in the middle of recovery, even two years after the 'war' between Hope and Despair ended. Kyoko liked the calm. It helped her relax. It helped Kyoko keep her mind in the serene state she resolved to keep it throughout the whole day. And, even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, it helped her cope. These nigh-quiet streets, with men and women occasionally roaming to wherever they pleased, with no necessity for constant fear for their lives and safety were what kept her going. It reminded her that all the people she lost, all of the hardships, pain and sacrifice meant something in the grander scheme of the world. It helped her ignore the empty space in her heart that people like her father and Koichi had left when they perished. And even if it didn't fill that space, that silence was enough for her not to feel it. And that was enough. To enjoy the blue sky, the near-empty streets and the beautiful notes of silence were enough to keep her going.

And then that silence was broken.

"Hey, uh... Kyoko?" Hina suddenly called. She quickly snapped out of her own thoughts to look at her friend, only to find that Hina was no longer in front of her, like in the rest of the walk. Turning around, she found Hina standing still behind her, starting into and adjacent alleyway.

"Is something wrong?" Kyoko cut to the chase, concerned about her friend's sudden stop.

'I- I think I saw a girl there." Hina explained, squinting and biting her lip in what she could only assume was worry.

Kyoko rapidly moved to Hina's side, and looked into the alleyway herself.

The alley itself was not special. A pathway between a restaurant and an office building, leading to somewhere the darkness refused to show her. However, the darkness was not enough to blind her from what was actually special: a slender, feminine figure laying against the wall of the office building, her traits and clothing too obscured to discern.

"D-do you-"

"Yes, I see her" Kyoko replied as she started walking into the darkness of the pathway. "I'm going to check on her, wait for me"

Kyoko would not have normally worried about an aleatory person laying asleep in the middle of the street. Despite the progress of the Future Foundation, homelessness and poverty would always exist, especially after an event as long and arduous as the Tragedy. It was a tragedy in it of itself, of course, but she knew that not even the genius of Izuru Kamukura combined with the wealth of the Togami Corporation could fix it entirely. However, with the logical side of her brain full functioning, she could notice several things about the alleyway that suggested that this was not just a homeless girl sleeping in the middle of the city.

First fact that caught her attention: the alleyway was clean. Too clean. So clean, in fact, that there was not a single object in the alley except the unconscious woman. That lead into the other thing that caught Kyoko's attention: the girl herself. She knew there was nothing in the alleyway: no trash, no trash disposal and most importantly: nothing near the girl. There were no objects on the floor that would have made sleeping on concrete any less of a pain, not even a piece of cardboard. There wasn't anything to protect the woman from the cold, as far as Kyoko could see. If this girl was truly here to sleep through the night, she would have brought something with her. 

That is what made her want to check on the body. She wasn't Makoto, but she had some amount of empathy. She knew that this girl was in some type of trouble, and she knew pretty well that the Naegi-shaped angel on her shoulder would not shut up for weeks if she didn't at least attempt to help the woman out.

Once she was directly in front of the woman's unconscious figure, she pulled out her phone and turned on its flashlight. She preferred a traditional flashlight, but she left hers at home, so this would have to do. Kyoko aimed the light at the girl to identify in exactly what state she was in. 

And she almost dropped her phone.

Kyoko was not shocked or scared by dead bodies anymore. She was a detective, that was nothing short of a necessity. Even the most abhorrent murder scenes she had witnessed both in the job and outside of it had barely made her bat an eye. What she was seeing, however... it defied all logic. It defied all reason. The moment Kyoko looked at that girl's face she felt as if the very foundation of reality crumbled underneath her. And this girl wasn't even dead.

"Kyoko, is the girl OK? Is she hur- oh." She heard from behind her. Kyoko did not know when Hina had come up to her. She didn't even look up at her friend when she noticed he was behind her. The only thing she registered was that Hina's voice emanated the same amount of disbelief Kyoko herself was in at that moment. 

This girl was not dead, mauled or decaying. She was quite the opposite, in fact. She was alive, and a prime example of female beauty. She had blue hair that reached her stomach and pale, near features. She wore a white and blue schoolgirl uniform with a tear in the area of her stomach, alongside brown shoes; long, dark blue leggings and a pink bow in her chest. And, the thing that truly terrified her, was that Kyoko knew perfectly well who she was.

Kyoko had seen posters of her in her boyfriend's old house, lined up in both his and his sister's rooms. Kyoko had seen her on TV whenever her newest concert was announced. Kyoko had consistently seen her throughout the two years they had attended high school together. And Kyoko had seen her cold, dead body when what remained of her class had to bury her six feet underground.

But despite that, here she was, lying in the very same position she had died in four years beforehand. Lying in front of her, unconscious and somehow **alive,** was Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! You thought this would be more bad things for the survivors, but it was actually.... confusion. Lots of it.  
> This work is not my sole focus. Updates WILL be irregular. I started writing this on a whim, both because I thought the ideas I had for these characters deserved a space to pan out in, and because I wanted to practice and iron out my flaws in writing. Any and all criticism is appreciated, as long as it is done in a respectful matter. Anything from typos to general writing style changes is open for criticism. I hope you enjoy what I have posted until now.


	2. Aoi Asahina inconspicuously carries a body up a flight of stairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hina and Kyoko deal with what they found.

**July 26th, 2017**

Hina should have expected this.

Well, of course she couldn't have predicted what was happening just then, but she should have expected something along the lines of it. She had been living this particular life for far too long for something completely insane and/or world ending to **not** happen every few months. Still, the fact that she had been through two Killing Games, witnessed another three, had seen a group of children commit mass murder and had **literally** survived the apocalypse had created a new 'normal' for her. And this had somehow managed to land two kilometers outside of that.

Maizono, the girl Hina that had been Hina's classmate, the girl that Hina had watched die due to a simple mistake, was there. Somehow breathing. With the same rip in her uniform where a kitchen knife had once been lodged. With the exact same face, clothes and complexion. With the exact same... everything.

It was something that simply did not make sense, in any way, shape or form. It had her at a complete loss for words. And, what was more worrying than her own reaction, Kyoko seemed to be at a loss as well. 

Now, as Kyoko's best friend, she obviously recognized that Kyoko was her own human being, and that she wasn't the key to every problem or mystery that presented itself before them. But she also knew that when something managed to shock an Ultimate Detective not only out of words, but out of her calm, thoughtful demeanor as well, she knew it was something big. Something so out there that Hina couldn't hope to understand it on her own. 

So, knowing she couldn't even **begin** to comprehend the situation even if she tried, she did the next best thing. She tried to snap her friend out of her stupor. 

"Hey... Kyoko... what's going on here?" she said, attempting to in any way kick start the swift, inquiring reflexes Kyoko normally had in front of dead bodies.

When Kyoko turned her head so she could look at Hina, and she finally made eye contact, the uncertainty that filled the other girl's eyes heavily unnerved the swimmer. Still, she tried not to show any of her worry or fear in her expression. "I-I am unsure for now." While Hina noticed the slightest amount of shame in her friend's voice, she didn't try to intrude on that topic. She was a dunce on most subjects, but she at least knew that sleeping zombie that laid in front of them was a more urgent issue than how much Kyoko pushed herself. She promised herself to breach that topic later on, when whatever they were experiencing at that moment wasn't a priority.

On the note of priorities, she decided to continue. "Well, what do we do about... this?" She really hoped she had an idea, because Hina didn't. All she could hope for was for some sort of direction to be established by the lavender-haired girl. They had to do something soon, because the girl in front of her, Sayaka or not, waking up in a dark alley was not something she thought anyone would take very well. Hell, the fact that this was happening in a place where **anyone** could see what was happening was starting to unnerve Hina herself. 

Her friend seemed to ponder her question for a second, and then started to text someone. She kept at this for a bit and, after a few pings, she looked back at Hina. "I sent Makoto our location. He's bringing the car." She seemed to ponder a bit more before continuing. "Hina, I'm going to ask something vital of you. A-As a friend."

Hina stared at her in confusion for a second before straightening up and responding. _'Do all yo can do for her, Hina'_ "What do you need me to do?" She tried to smile at her, with her expression coming out what she felt was only a **little** bit forced.

Kyoko, however, kept her features serious and void of emotion, thankfully not showing any signs of recognizing Hina's quasi-failed attempt at being comforting. "When Makoto **does** get here, I need you to be mindful. The appearance of this girl... it is certainly going to have an effect on him." 

_'Oh'_

Of course Makoto would have a big reaction for this! Either they called him in the middle of the night because a girl cosplaying as his former crush had passed out on a dark alleyway, or because said crush, who had tried to frame him for **actual murder,** had **somehow** come back to life! This was obviously going to affect him more than anyone else who knew Maizono! 

_'Calm down Hina'_ she quickly screamed at herself, knocking herself out of her disaster of a thought process. _'_ _This is **not** the time to panic'_

She quickly nodded. "Don't worry Kyoko. I'll be as careful as possible." This seemed to alleviate her stress somewhat, which was good. She needed to help her friends stay calm, or at least as calm as she could help them be, especially during a situation as gargantuanly confusing as she knew it was going to become. Because, if not to help those that could actually solve these types of mysteries power through them, what could she even do?

They stayed next to the body with, thankfully, nobody noticing what was happening as they watched the coming and going lights of the vehicles as they passed through the streets, until a black car stopped and parked on the side of the road. As Makoto exited the car, she attempted to suppress her rising rate of breathing, already wary of what his reaction was going to be.

As he got closer, the worry his features expressed became clearer and clearer and, as soon as he was sure they could both hear him, he immediately began questioning them. "Kyoko! Hina! What's going on/! You said it was urgent Kyoko! What happened? Is either of you injured? Do you need any medi... cal... atten..." However, like she expected, his caring interrogation ended the moment he looked at the body, still illuminated by Kyoko's phone. And in no time, a scream came from the bottom of his throat, with an intensity she hadn't witnessed since the Final Killing Game. His features left no question about how overwhelmed he was, the usual terror he expressed when he screamed replaced by nothing but pure shock.

Hina tried not to crumble in confusion alongside her friend. She couldn't. Not right then. Not when Kyoko was shocked out of words, and not when Makoto was in the state he was in. She couldn't crumble in from of them. She couldn't crumble just yet.

* * *

After Makoto bombarded Kyoko with questions, in the biggest panic Hina had seen him in since (quite ironically) Maizono's death, Kyoko explaining that they needed to get the girl to safety before anything could be answered, and them carrying the unconscious girl to the backseat of the car which, on a separate note, Hina was quite thankful no one saw, they were on their way back to Makoto and Kyoko's apartment. It was a silent ride back to the couple's home, with no one even attempting to break the silence, whether it be because of Makoto's still very present state of shock, Kyoko deep train of thought, or Hina trying to figure out how to help her friends relax from the seemingly perpetual state of turmoil that this situation had placed them all in (She came up with nothing. Hooray!). This continued on to when they parked in front of the apartment complex, carried 'Maizono' up a flight of stairs and entered the apartment, somehow still unnoticed (she made a note to thank whatever god gave Makoto his luck later). Once they had laid the girl on the couple's bed, and closed the door to said bedroom, they sat down around the small table in the living room, Makoto and Kyoko on opposite sides of the table, with Hina to the side.

The very moment they were all sat down, Hina was set on figuring out whatever happened, or at least prompting the others into action. After all, the sooner the made some sense of the situation, the sooner they could resolve it. "Guys, do you have any idea of what is happening right now?"

While Makoto's lost expression said enough about his lack of any potential conclusions, Kyoko, refreshingly, was on the case. "It is quite obvious that this girl is in a quite unusual situation, being passed out in an alley. The fact that said alley was cleaned of anything but her body indicates that this was **not** by random chance. She is identical to Maizono not only in physical appearance, but in the exact articles of clothing as well. And, while I might need to have a review of the case file to figure out the specifics, I am somewhat familiar with the case, and can determine that the tear in the girl's clothing is in a very similar position to where the stab wound was present on Maizono's corpse."

"But... what exactly does this **mean,** Kyoko?" Makoto asked, looking up at her with almost pleading eyes, clearly and completely relying on his partner for getting to any amount of understanding of the situation.

Kyoko looked a bit hurt by her boyfriend's distraught, but she continued nevertheless. "Now, with the information we possess at the moment, there are a couple of increasingly impossible hypotheses. Either a woman who looks identical to Maizono or someone similar to the Ultimate Imposter dressed up exactly like she did and passed out, laid out in exactly the same position that she did when she died in an alleyway that they knew Hina and I would pass through on the way back here, betting on the chance one of us would notice. Or..."

"...or what?" Hina asked, both already knowing the answer yet somehow completely in the dark.

"...or Maizono was never really dead, and they somehow survived the First Killing Game." she said while looking downward, almost ashamed at her own conclusions. 

To say Hina wasn't expecting that answer would be both true and false. She would admit that, after seeing that girl, she considered the idea that maybe, just maybe, Maizono had not actually died, to hear the theory from the Ultimate Detective herself launched it from something she was pretty sure was just an illogical byproduct of her wandering mind to something that was actually plausible, which was something she was not expecting in the slightest.

"Bu- but how?!!" Makoto's confusion seemed to almost implode once Kyoko's last theory was out in the open, jumping from his chair and slamming both of his open palms down on the table. "We- We saw her die! We saw her corpse in the freezer! We tested all of the bodies for blood after we joined the Future Foundation, right? They were all our friends' bodies! She wasn't a Remnant, and we **know** the body we found in the Bio Lab was hers!! So how could you say that she's... that she's alive?" While she couldn't really classify Makoto's reaction as hateful or aggressive, his out-of-nowhere potent and fervent desire to combat the idea that Maizono could have survived was the closest he had seen him to truly being angry at anyone other than Junko Enoshima.

Although Hina could swear that she saw Kyoko flinch the slightest amount, her friend didn't relent "That's why I said they were 'increasingly impossible'. The most likely theory I proposed is nothing but the most likely series of contrived and ridiculous events, with the others being nothing but illogical extensions of the first one. I am not saying that Maizono surviving is necessarily what happened, or that it isn't, because we do not have enough evidence to solve or even understand this case. Not right now." While she used the same tone she typically used when explaining something, Hina still noticed how she tried to use logic to help ease the irrational amount of denial he was in. Not that she didn't get how he felt. If she wasn't resolved to be some sort of rock for her friends, she would be the one questioning everything in a disorderly and erratic manner. While they had no idea of who this girl was or what this situation entailed, and they were well aware that the most likely situation was that this was some kind of trick, the possibility of Maizono having somehow **not** died was what all of their minds went to, despite how diminutive the chance was for it to be the truth, and it was what confused them the most.

While Makoto still seemed pretty conflicted, he deflated and sunk back into his chair, letting out a sigh. "Well, if we don't have any way of understanding it, how **do** we get the info we need? Do we... contact the Future Foundation and ask for their help?" He very pronouncedly hesitated, clearly not excited about possibly working with the Future Foundation again.

Thankfully for him, Kyoko didn't seem to keen either "I don't think that's a good idea. While this **is** a pretty complicated mystery, I believe contacting their investigation team, especially with the high crime rates at the moment, would do nothing but slow them down and harm our investigation, considering the amount of legal gateways a Foundation-directed investigation normally has. While notifying them of this would be a good idea once we have more information later down the line, I believe it would be best if we took the matter of this investigation into our own hands, since it would allow for a closer and less restrictive environment for research." Kyoko responded, which made Hina let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding in. To be honest, she also wasn't very keen on working with the Future Foundation. Even when it was about saving and reconstructing the world, all the bureaucracy was a gigantic pain in the bum to deal with. She much preferred her current job at Hope's Peak, and she highly preferred not to deal with all the paperwork collaborating with the Foundation would involve.

"Yeah, you're probably right..." he borderline moaned before lightening up the slightest bit. "Besides, who needs the Foundation when we already have an Ultimate Detective on the case?"

"Yeah.... Yeah!" Hina continued. "We might not know a lot right now, but once we get all the pieces, I have no doubt you'll put it together!" Hina sincerely hoped this cheered up Kyoko at least a little, because she was having a hard time reading her expression.

"Still, what do we do when she wakes up?" asked Makoto, back to his sullen-ish state of emotion. "If she really is just some girl, she probably has a a family or home to get back to, and she would be safe there while we gathered evidence. But... if the girl really **is** Sayaka... where would she end up?" When Hina really thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense. Whatever this girl's identity was, they would probably have to deal with her whenever she woke up, and... well, in the small chance she **was** Maizono, it would be beneficial to have **some** sort of plan.

Kyoko seemed to already have both thought it through and subsequently figured it out (something Hina **really** should not be surprised by anymore), because she was quite rapid in presenting a solution. "Simple. We ask Togami for help." 

"Why? We decided not to contact the Future Foundation because we would interrupt their operations, right? Wouldn't requesting the help of the Togami Corporation be doing the exact same thing we said we'd avoid to them?" Makoto asked.

"That would be true, if we were asking for the help of the Togami Corporation. What I am proposing is that we request aid from Togami himself. A man with his status and wealth would have as much difficulty renting a room in a nearby hotel as he would cleaning his ear. I have no doubt that, once the mystery is laid out before him, he would have little issue with not only aiding us economically, but lending us his help in the investigation as well." Kyoko responded just as quickly. It was honestly nice to see this back and forth of theirs return, discounting both of their emotional states and the whole 'zombie imposter asleep in the room next to them' situation.

While it felt a bit disrespectful to Byakuya as a person to call him for (mostly) his money, she knew that they had no other choice if they wanted to cover all their bases. Even knowing that, Makoto would probably still feel bad about it, but he was Makoto, so it was kind of expected.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of reaction Byakuya would have to the whole ordeal. She had only seen him actually shocked a couple of times, like when they found out what the Tragedy was during the First Killing Game. He had almost the same amount of shock in his face as Taka. While she didn't really admire it back then, what with the whole '99.9999% chance of death if they left' stuff, she admitted that, looking back on it, it was pretty funny. In any kind of situation, Byakuya Togami having the same reaction to something as Taka made her want to chuckle.

 _'Wait a minute'_ a sudden thought came to her _'Taka's reaction to this.... oh crap!'_

"Guys, I just thought of something!" she exclaimed, interrupting whatever Makoto was going to say in response to his girlfriend's explanation. "We're going to show Byakuya what's going on here, right?!"

"Um... yes, Hina, I think that's.... kinda obvious...." Makoto said, scratching his cheek while sporting an awkward smile on his face.

"Yeah, I know **that!** I was saying that it got me thinking: what about Taka and Toko? When are we going to tell them?" Hina finished, the slightest bit annoyed that Makoto thought she couldn't pick up that simple fact. It was obviously a rhinoceros question!

Kyoko put her hand on her chin, apparently not having considered this. "That **is** a pretty good question. While I would like to keep to keep this investigation to a small a crowd as possible, Fukawa and Ishimaru **were** involved in the First Killing Game and, if my theory on a fake death is, by some herculean leap in logic, correct, their insight, as well as Genocide Jill's, given the fact that she retained her memories from before the Tragedy in an almost intact state, would prove quite useful." she looked at Hina for another second before directing herself at both of them. "I surmise it would be best for us to contact them both. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Hina."

"So...do we call them right now? I guess 10:45 isn't **too** late... everyone must still be awake, right?" Makoto asked.

Hina nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably. So, who's calling who?"

"I'm calling Toko" Makoto said before his awkward smile from before reappeared. "Well... more like calling Komaru and asking her to pass the phone on to Toko. Knowing Toko, she most likely wouldn't pick up if I called her directly."

"Wait, why aren't **you** calling Byakuya? You're like... the person he's the least Byakuya-y to!" Hina said, in slight bewilderment at the idea that anyone other than Makoto could convince Byakuya to come down to the apartment.

"Well... I was actually thinking Kyoko should be the one to do that." Makoto started explaining, making his partner raise an eyebrow. "I mean, yeah, Byakuya and I are.... well, what **I** would call friends, but he respects Kyoko too, even if they are a lot more formal about it. Besides, I would probably be too meek to handle an angry Byakuya telling me to buzz off and let him work..."

Kyoko lowered her eyebrow as Makoto finished his thought process. "Minus the self-deprecation, you make a good point there. That would only leave Hina calling Ishimaru, and all we'd have to do afterwards is wait."

After Kyoko finished her statement, they scattered to different parts of the flat as to not disturb the others' phone calls. Kyoko stayed at the table, Makoto went outside of the apartment and Hina quickly closed herself of in the bathroom, and tapped Taka's icon in her contact list. Unsurprisingly punctual, the first ring didn't even finish before the phone picked up.

"Greeting Hina! May I ask what you are calling me at this late an hour?" Taka went straight to the point, which she guessed was something that would never change.

"Yeah! I need a favor from you. Could you come to Makoto and Kyoko's apartment? It's really urgent." She answered quickly as well, guessing that small talk wouldn't sit well with the guy.

"And why, may I inquire, do you request my presence at such a late hour? I hope you are not attempting to organize any kind of celebration. While I **am** supportive of parties and other forms of bonding activities, I must advise you that planning in advance is vital whe-"

"Look, OK? There's no time to explain! It's not a party, and we need you here as soon as possible!" she interrupted his lecture before he actually got into the rant. 

There were a couple of second of silence from the other end of the line before he responded. "Very well! I will trust that you are not 'pulling my leg' here. I shall be there as quickly as I can! While still abiding by traffic laws and the speed limit." He hung up after that, and while she was a bit offended by the sudden cut-off, she still appreciated him trying to be as fast as possible. If Taka was anything, he was reliable.

She was soon out of the bathroom and back to her seat on the table, where Kyoko was, apparently having also finished her call.

"Togami is arriving in approximately half an hour. I trust Ishimaru is also coming?" Kyoko inquired as soon as she sat down.

"Yeah, he says he'll be here as soon as he can." 

Kyoko nodded. "Yes, that was to be expected from him. Now all we have to do is wait for-"

The swinging of the front door interrupted her, from which Makoto emerged back inside the flat with an awkward half-smile on his face.

"Toko is coming.... Kyoko, please tell me Byakuya accepted, otherwise I'm pretty sure shell just use her taser and have Jill kill me..." he said while sinking back into his chair, and Hina started feeling a bit sorry for him. Not too sorry though. She definitely wouldn't trade positions with him given the chance. Not everyone, namely herself, was blessed with such patience that they could handle Toko Fukawa's 'antics'.

"Well, thankfully for you, me and the uniform whiteness of our carpet, the others are also coming." she said with a small smirk on her face before she rose from her seat. "Now, I believe I should go downstairs and wait for our guests. Would you like to come with, Hina?" 

"Wha- uh, ok!" she stuttered before getting up from her seat and following Kyoko as she walked out the open door, something she swore she could see her looking at Makoto in annoyance for before Hina closed it herself.

* * *

After walking down to the entrance, they waited for what Hina estimated was around twenty-something minutes before one of their former classmates arrived. And considering the fact they arrived in a limousine, Hina was 99.9% sure of who it was (unless Toko had finally accepted a movie deal, which she very much doubted. She was too stubborn about 'staying a pure writer' to do that).

Byakuya, the pompous rich guy he apparently had to show them he was every time they met, didn't get out himself. The chauffeur had to get out of the driver's seat, walk around the car, open his door and walk back to his seat to... probably wait to heed another request that hadn't come yet. Honestly, Hina was half-expecting for him to pay the squirrels to open the door to the building for him just so he wouldn't have to touch a doorknob that had been in contact with the fingers of 'dirty peasants' like her.

After entering the complex, he briefly looked at Hina, and as she prepared herself for a scathing comment about the uselessness of her presence, he turned to look fully at Kyoko. "Kirigiri, could you elaborate on what the reason was for calling me here at 11 PM? And for that matter, why Asahina is here? I believe I have given you enough benefit of the doubt, having come here without knowing the precise reason." OK, so he wasn't being derisive towards her very existence. Huh, that's weird. Maybe he just wasn't in the mood?

"I would like to, and I promise you that I will, but I am afraid I cannot do it at the current moment. We are still waiting for the others to arrive, and I believe explaining it with everyone here will be much more efficient and will greatly help with what we called you here for." Kyoko answered, with an apologetic smile on her face, which... didn't irritate Byakuya as much as she expected her to.

"Judging by Asahina's presence, I assume I am correct when I say that by 'the others' you mean the rest of our former class?" Kyoko nodded, to which Byakuya scoffed at. "I hope you know that if you had not informed me that what you have to show me has something to do in relation with the First Killing Game I would already be on my way back to my home. This ordeal better be worth whatever time you make me spend next to Fukawa."

Togami, let me assure you that what I have in store is more than worth your time." Kyoko said with an air of definite certainty to her words, almost telling him that his opinion didn't factor in whether it was or wasn't 'worth his time'. However, before she could even notice what Byakuya's reaction was, the door burst open, making her turn to identify the offender, despite the sheer intensity of the action being a very telling factor as to who it was.

"Hello friends! I have arrived in what I believe is an acceptable amount of time!" Taka beamed at them, making Byakuya let out long sigh, his previous air of seriousness being replaced by pure annoyance. The recently introduced man then turned to Hina before continuing. "Hina, now that I am here, may I finally ask what you have called me, and apparently others, here for? You were quite insistent, almost rude I would say, in me making myself present as soon as possible. Did you withhold the truth from me when you said you weren't organizing some sort of surprise party? Because I am quite certain I have all of your birthdays memorized. Have I misremembered in any way? If so, I would like to profoundly apolo-"

"God, you just can't stop yourself, can you?" Byakuya rolled his eyes, interrupting her colleague's tirade, something Hina was slightly grateful for. "Being called in the middle of the night for something as trivial as a 'surprise birthday party' is asinine on every level, and such an idiotic and nonsensical is beneath even the likes of you. Could you stop wasting your breath with these illogical ramblings and shut your mouth? They have stated that they will not explain the situation until Fukawa arrives, so that is what we will do. In the meanwhile, I would appreciate you ceasing you shouting so I may enjoy the silence I am temporarily blessed with before it gets disrupted by a rabidly obsessed glorified porno author." While it was (somehow) comforting to have the refined crudeness that characterized her former classmate, she couldn't help but notice that said insults weren't as laced with disgust as they were filled with impatience.

Taka looked a bit awkward upon realizing the lack of sense in his ranting before forcing a smile into his features. "R-right! My apologies, I was... making a couple of senseless assumptions there! I now, as they say, 'shut my gobbler'!"

After that familiar exchange (namely Byakuya and somebody he wants to shut up) there wasn't much talking, up until a car parked outside and a familiar pair of women exited the vehicle.

_'Wait, pair?!'_

"Hey guys!" saluted Komaru once both her and her roommate entered the building. "I'm- uh, sorry if I'm intruding on anything, but you that Toko doesn't have a license, and neither of us were really keen on her taking a taxi here, so..."told 

"Hey, it's not an issue, right Kyoko?" she said, looking pleadingly at her best friend. They already had enough of an inferiority complex with the older Naegi sibling for the younger one to feel like she was 'intruding on the Ultimates' business'.

"Well, while I will admit you presence is not necessarily required for the situation at hand, you **are** someone I believe won't be an unnecessary expansion the small circle I want to keep this situation to. There is no need to worry." Kyoko told her with a small, reassuring smile. While Komaru didn't look like she got all of that (and to be honest, Hina didn't either), she seemed to get the overall message, if her earnest return of Kyoko's smile was anything to go by. 

Toko, meanwhile, didn't even say hello to anyone. She just attempted to approach her 'Master', got a harsh from him, eeped and retreated to behind her best friend, which Komaru looked at with an awkward expression. Hina was at an honest loss as to how she was able to deal with Toko (and apparently Jill as well) 24/7. All she knew was that the Naegis must have their sanctity buried somewhere **deep** within their DNA.

After shooting a metaphorical hole through Toko, Byakuya returned his attention to Kyoko. "So, now that the whole 'gang' is back together, would you like to explain what this impromptu prom reunion is all about?" he asked again, the air of impatience around him somehow rising to new heights.

"Well, while I could explain it all right now, I do believe it would be better if we went upstairs and showed it to you." Kyoko responded with the serious expression she sported during their initial discussion coming back in full force.

"S-S-Stop running around the issue! You c-called us to your house with n-no explanation in the middle of the n-n-night! M-Master obviously wants to know why, and you're j-just postponing your explanation! St-top being so freaking ominous!" Toko said, while pointing at the detective, still from behind Komaru.

"I am not 'postponing', nor am I attempting to be 'ominous' on purpose. I am saying that you would not believe me if I just **told you.** To truly absorb the reality of the situation, you **have** to witness it for yourself." Kyoko said pointedly at the writer, who growled audibly and could barely open her mouth to try and rebut Kyoko's statement before she was interrupted.

"Very well. Let's see it." Byakuya said, with an unusually un-cocky expression gracing his face. "If this truly is related to what you told me, then I have no doubt it is enough to shock even the likes of myself." He then looked apprehensively at Toko, who tried to hide better behind her roommate. "As for you, I shall request that you do not attempt to speak for me ever again." He proceeded to look at everyone in classic Togami Annoyance. "What are you all doing, standing around like idiots? The detective told us all this was urgent. Let's go up to her house and see what she thought she had to reunite our class for." That callback to what they were there for got everyone, excluding Kyoko, moving frantically towards the staircase. 

They all spilled into the apartment, where Makoto quickly got up to greet all the newcomers. However, he got swiftly interrupted by Byakuya.

"Save us the friendly dribble for later Makoto. Right now we want to see whatever your partner said was too much for everyone to handle." he said in what was basically an elongated way of telling someone 'shut up, you're stupid, let's get on with this', something he apparently **was** in the mood for doing that night.

Makoto lost his smile immediately and looked uncomfortably at his bedroom, where the topic of conversation laid, still asleep. Right... in the middle of the familiar, somewhat comforting disaster of a conversation they'd had downstairs, she had forgotten that something completely illogical and impossible laid behind that door. And it seemed that Makoto had as well, if the stark change in his mood was anything to go by.

"Yeah! Right..." he said with a... noticeably different type of awkwardness in his face, only accentuated by the sullen look he still had in his eyes. "Could you guys... um... could you guys keep your reactions down? Wouldn't want to wake th- the neighbors." he then looked at the ground, making Byakuya furrow his brow.

"Right... we'll keep it down for the neighbors... Anyway, where is what you want to show us?" he asked, having clearly recognized the change in Makoto's attitude, and very clearly refraining from commenting on it. 

"Inside our bedroom" Kyoko said matter-of-factly, clearly as set on letting everyone out of the dark as Byakuya was at that moment.

Byakuya raised his eyebrow slightly at that, apparently not expecting the 'something' to be in the place where they slept, and then walked towards the bedroom door with slightly less conviction than when leading (or corralling, depending on your point of view) everyone up the stairs. As he grabbed the doorknob and turned it, Hina remained to the side as everyone who wasn't in the know moved as to better see whatever was in the bedroom. And, in one swift motion, the door was wide open. 

A shocked scream, an exclamation muffled by the offender's hands, the thud of a woman hitting the floor, the familiar sound of psychotic laughter and complete silence from a singular blonde individual told Hina this was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Prologue:**

**Until Today, Never was the Only Answer**

**END**

**There are ~~6~~ 7? Survivors from the Killing Game left**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAANNNDDD THERE YOU GO! The rest of the gang (and Komaru) is here! We got a couple of initial theories! And Hina is trying her best, but she doesn't even know how to begin trying!  
> You guys might not be aware, but this chapter took a far shorter span of time than the last one. Like, a week compared to the month the first one took. It's because, like I said in the first chapter's notes, this story is partly to iron out my flaws as a writer. That in part means things like not following a strict schedule, which I'm attempting with a one chapter per week deadline, and seeing what this more rushed and less calculated version of my writing is like, so I can make it as precise as the slower version.  
> Anyways, I have decided that I will shout out some video, fanfic, artwork, etc. at the end of every chapter. Because WHY NOT! What I decided to shout out this very first time is a sort of AMV: https://youtu.be/uMRsSUtNLIw  
> Seriously, the song mixes in so well with the characters, the artwork is amazing and the part where everyone is slowly disappearing and Shuichi's scream made me quite literally cry. It's really good, and as a Danganronpa fan, I can't recommend this enough.  
> Finally, thank you for reading the second chapter of YSN (name totally not based on any other DR work on this site) and remember that, if you have any criticism, whether it be how I write the characters, a certain word you see me repeat way too much or something you see wrong with how the story flows, you are encouraged to put in the comment section. Positive feedback is as welcome as plain old compliments, maybe even more. Stay safe out there!


	3. Byakuya Togami is tired of the pining murderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After things calm down, the reunited Class 78 figures out what to do next.

**July 26th, 2017**

Byakuya sat down in the last remaining chair and started massaging his brow after Kirigiri finished recounting the day's events. He was honestly tempted to just outright ask the detective if she was pulling some sort of joke on him, but he both knew that she wouldn't do something like that after using the First Killing Game as the reason why he had to arrive there as fast as possible, and the fact that it was simply not in her character. There was also the fact that Makoto, the goodie two shoes he was, would not have allowed for a 'prank' this level of distasteful. And while he could go on and on in his own mind about why what was happening at the moment was not actually a futile attempt his former classmates to get one over him, he knew that there were more urgent matters he had to attend to. Specifically, whatever the hell was going on.

"It's great that you **finally** explained the situation, but I am still on wait for you to answer one of my questions. Namely, why you had to call the entire class here." he reminded the woman. "While I would understand the idea of involving us because we 'deserved to know' coming from Makoto or Asahina, I understand from your earlier conversation with Makoto's sister that you would highly prefer to keep this case known to as little people as possible. Therefore, I simply do not fathom the idea that you would have agreed to call the whole of Class 78 without some other underlying motive guiding your actions." The detective smiled at that, glad, for some reason, that he brought the topic back up. It quite annoyed him whenever she did that. Acting like he was somehow as predictable as her partner.

"You would be right in that assumption. While I do agree with the idea that, as members of Class 78, you all deserved to be informed about this at some point, my main motivation, like the ones who were here when I proposed it will remember, revolves around either giving ground to or discarding one of my main theories about the mystery." she explained to the gathered, using his statement as a segway into what she had to say. "And to do that, I required all of your recollections of Maizono. To be more specific, whether you noticed anything suspicious about her that Makoto, Hina and I mighty have missed. Anything, truly anything at all, that might indicate the she was not a simple victim within the Tragedy."

That made sense, as you'd expect from Kirigiri. Still, the fact the highest caliber of detective would settle for such an inane hypothesis made him slightly offended. This woman was **supposed** to have an even greater mind for investigation than him, and she settled for theories like this made him feel like the 'Ultimate Detective' title being given to her was just a cosmic joke at his expense. Well, not that he could really admit it, but he didn't have anything better to propose as an explanation. So, he'd have to keep quiet about his irritation for now. He couldn't have people on Asahina's level taking him for a fool. 

"But... we know with absolute certainty that she died." Said Ishimaru, staring in shock at her from the other side of the room, sitting in the armchair he had taken when they had all settled down to listen to Kirigiri. "We know that the Despair Sisters were the ones who organized the Killing Game and the Tragedy. It is... quite insane to think another one of our classmates was in on it as well."

"I am well aware that the facts that we posses at the moment contradict this series of events in such ways it might make my theory seem near impossible." Kirigiri replied. "However, something we absolutely need if we are to reach a conclusion as to what is happening, is that while every theory we might conjure at the moment might seem impossible, it is not necessarily because of the ordeal itself, but because of the grave lack of evidence we are presented with at the current moment. And yes, while we may not be even remotely close to the truth at this precise moment, we **must** pursue every possible avenue and hypothesis if we **ever** want to get anywhere close. No matter how impossible the idea may seem when it is first unveiled." She then very noticeably shifted from looking at the Moral Compass to directing her words at the entire group. "So anything that you might remember that might even hint at any collaboration between Sayaka Maizono and the Ultimate Despair, no matter how small, will immensely help in where we look and how we decide to proceed with the investigation." 

"Well, unlike most of you, I was not very 'social' throughout most of the Killing Game, and what times I remember interacting with her during the Killing Game, as well as the small flashes of memory I got from before the Tragedy, she did not do anything that might be relevant here." He said, already aware of the futility of his testimony, more so wanting to get things going so he could hear the testimony of the others.

While Ishimaru still looked unsure, he chimed in nonetheless. "After reviewing both the time we spent together during the morning meetings, as well as my own brief flashes, I must say that I do not remember anything either. While she did talk to a disguised Ikusaba during some of the morning meetings, these occasions are less than I can count with a single hand, and it wasn't anything that did not appear casual. Makoto, you were next to her during all of the meetings, you can confirm this." He looked at Makoto who, despite whatever issue he seemed to have with the conversation, nodded in agreement.

She sighed, slight disappointment gracing her face. "This was to be expected, but I thank you both nonetheless." She then turned towards the last witness, who was sitting in the sofa next to Ishimaru alongside her best friend, and had been... eerily quiet since they saw the girl. So quiet, in fact, that Byakuya, the man who got nothing but ecstasy of her shoving her filthy words back down her throat, was starting to get unnerved. "Jill, why I wished to interview Fukawa first, I do believe it would yield the exact same results as the other two's testimonies. Now, what's different about you is that, as we all know, you are in possession of your entire set of memories from Hope's Peak, which provides us two **complete** years of reliable information, which aids us immensely, considering how much more it is than our measly four days of knowing her. Now, if you could be so kind as to..." she trailed off, noticing that the shaking serial killer hadn't even looked up at her. "Is anything wrong, Jill?"

The moment she showed her concern for Jill, everyone except Naegi's Sister, who had already been looking at her friend warily, actually turned to the one being addressed specifically. 

And apparently, receiving all this attention was all Jill needed to finally break down, making her screech from the top of her lungs while lunging her entire body backwards with her hands covering her face. "EAAAUGHHHHHHH!"

The sudden screaming caught everyone, even him, by surprise, and caused the younger Naegi to finally spring into action. "Jill! What's going on!? Did you remember anything bad!? Are you OK!?" She asked her friend, with concern in her eyes that was apparently only possible from a member of the Naegi Family.

"I don't.... I don't want to do this... not again...." The serial killer said, having stopped her unruly screaming. She was still in the same position she had screeched in, more remorse than he had ever heard within her voice, tears rolling down the visible part of her cheeks.

Now **this** statement caught the attention of Kirigiri, who sat up and approached the serial killer, with something akin to a completely professional glint in her eyes. "Jill, what do you mean by 'not this again'? Do **what** exactly?" Apparently, moderate amounts of attention was all it took to get the woman talking, because she immediately explained what.

And like everything else about the serial killer, it was completely and utterly ridiculous.

"I DON'T WANNA KILL ALL THOSE PRETTY BOYS AGAIN!!!!" She exclaimed while grabbing her best friend by the shoulders and aggressively shaking her. "IF THE BARRIER BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, AND MIKU IS BACK HAS DISSAPEARED, THAT MEANS ALL THE BOYS I KILLED ARE BACK TOO!" She continued screaming in tears that, after her last few disgustingly stupid statements, looked more... 'comical' than worrying, if you could even call the complete idiocy of the situation funny. "Those boys were sooooooo cute! But I made a promise to Master and Komaru! Auuuugggghhhhhh!" She then approached the CEO, and clinged onto his suit jacket. "Byakuya, what do I do here!? THIS IS SUCH A COMPLICATED MORAL DILLEMA!!!!!!"

That made Byakuya finally realize that, whatever great, overarching thrill of mystery this situation offered definitely didn't balance out the negative of having to deal with Jill's bullshit. He quickly slapped the woman's grip away with clear discomfort he wasn't even bothering with hiding anymore. "For the love of everything good, calm yourself down." He stated firmly, very, very eager to put an end to her misled breakdown. "It is quite obvious that there is absolutely no type of necromancy involved here. That would be ridiculous. You are making a scene for absolutely no comprehensible reason. Erase these insane ideas from your head and cooperate. It's an **order.** " While Byakuya **heavily** disliked using his 'position' as the girl's 'master', there were, sadly, sometimes situations when he **had** to actually get things somewhere.

Jill straightened up quickly, wiped the tears from her face and looking... way too excited about his command. _'This is why I avoid this as much as possible'_ he reminded himself, almost in a scolding to himself.

"Right! Whatever do you need Master!? Dinner? A bath? Or perhaps... do you desi-" 

"I want to know if, in the two years you knew Maizono, you saw anything that might suggest any type of involvement within the Ultimate Despair." He cut her off before she could say.... whatever obscenity he **knew** she was about to say. The woman put her hand on her chin and looked puzzled for a couple of seconds before she answered.

"Nope!!! Not! At! All!" She said while quickly blinking at him in... what he guessed was an almost painful attempt at being 'cute'. This answer prompted the formerly quiet detective back into action.

"Are you sure that there is absolutely nothing you remember that might indicate this theory being true?" She asked, clearly not confident on the thought behind the aloof response, a sentiment Byakuya shared. 

Jill groaned loudly at the inquiries. "Ugh!! Do you think I would lie to **my** Master!? How **dare** you!!" She snapped before pulling out one of her scissors and pointing them at the detective's throat, scandalizing everyone in the room minus Kirigiri and himself. "I said she didn't do anything suspicious, so that is **clearly** the truth! She mostly pranced around with Big Mac following behind her, or hung out and practiced with the Nickelback Girl from the year above us!" She then swiftly moved her scissors away from the other woman's jugular, making the Naegi Siblings (simultaneously, might Byakuya add) sigh in relief, before she finished. "You are veeeerryyyy lucky I am bound by a chastity oath, Blues Clues! If not, I'd have happily relieved you of some of those hideous fingers! KYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Kirigiri did not seem very offended at the jab at her deformity, sighing more in disappointment than actual anger at Jill's antics. "Very well, it seems my 'Fake Death' theory is mostly out of the window, and I sorely doubt that Fukawa's account would change that in any way."

"The only option left now is... the imposter theory." Makoto said, his eyes filled with... relief. Byakuya hadn't **just** noticed it, and he hadn't noticed just that small detail either. Throughout the whole conversation, ever since they had started actually discussing the 'Fake Death' hypothesis, the headmaster had been strangely quiet. Byakuya had seen the man in action during the Class Trials, so to think he would not be actively seeking out the truth like theirs without a motive, and a huge one at that... it would be asinine. He would have to approach him about it as soon as possible. 

"Well, it is quite obvious that we cannot go any further with just our recounting of events." Kirigiri said, her neutral, thoughtful expression returning to her face. "I suppose it was about time that we began investigating."

"But... where would we begin?" asked Asahina, the woman finally chimed in to the conversation.

That was when Byakuya stepped up. "That should be obvious. If the most vital part of this case is the imposter's identity, then the first thing we should attempt is to find that out. The most effective way to do this is very clearly a DNA test. Now, while I would usually get someone who is actually practiced to collect the sampled, I agree with the consensus that this should be kept to as small a circle as possible. I'll bring you the equipment tomorrow, once we start the investigation. All you will need to do is get some of the girl's saliva." While no one seemed to be disgusted by the idea, Makoto still shot up and protested, although for different reasons.

"Why tomorrow!? Wouldn't it be more effective if we started the investigation now?" He said, a bit louder than you would expect from the man. His insistence was almost like this was too urgent for him. Which, while he would expect from anyone else within the room, it seemed out of character from Makoto. It only helped further prove that there was some hidden motive behind his actions.

"Makoto, look around you, specifically at the clock hanging on your wall. It is almost midnight and, your sister, despite her best efforts, is already falling victim to her own drowsiness." The girl shook herself awake at his words, having clearly been slipping off into sleep before he had spoken about her. "If we start doing everything today, most of us won't have the energy to even think straight. So, while you can still think straight, I tell you to do it, and to realize this decision you are trying to make is nothing but foolish. Reconvening tomorrow would be much more effective."

Oh... yeah I- I guess you're right." Makoto sighed, looking even more downcast than before, exposing an opening for Byakuya to make his move. 

"Well, if you're so interested in investigating as soon as possible, there is still one more thing we are doing to be looking into tomorrow." Makoto started looking puzzled, but he quickly continued before he could ask anything. "I shall be here by 10:30 AM, with the equipment required for gathering the sample. I **will** see you both there, and I'll take Makoto to where we need to be." He then looked to the group as a whole. "You people can do whatever you want. You can come here to check up on the progress, as long as your presence does not disturb our process."

"While I do appreciate your... um, flexibility, Togami, it still does feel kind of... lazy on our part to not aid you." Said Ishimaru, a response he anticipated from the man.

"Kirigiri is the Ultimate Detective, I am the leader of the Togami Family, and Makoto has proven himself helpful enough on the field. Other than us three, no one has any talent in investigation whatsoever. It is not 'lazy' for fish not to attempt to climb a tree." He explained. "I know it is futile to try and dissuade you all from involving yourself, which is why I said I would allow you to keep up with the case, but I will simply **not** hesitate to say the truth out loud, which is that you will most likely not contribute to the investigation. Let **us** do the research, and we will ask for your assistance when we believe you shall be useful."

While his words did seem to leave both Asahina and Naegi's Sister pretty miffed, it seemed like the point had gotten across, and no one discussed his arguments further, which was all he was looking for. After his explanation, he swiftly stood up and headed towards the front door before delivering his final remarks.

"10:30. Tomorrow. Do not make me wait." He said before exiting and walking down the stairs.

The walk back to his mode of transport was a quiet one, silence he enjoyed to its fullest after about an hour of Toko Fukawa and her other, more murderous half. When he got to the limousine's door, he did not wait for Aloysius to even move, opening it himself. He also didn't wait for whatever his butler had to express, as he immediately began commanding him.

"Aloysius, I would like you to cancel all meetings and plans for Saturday and Sunday. Also, as a warning, you'll have to be ready to drive me back here by 9:50 AM."

Despite not seeing the man's face, he could almost feel the man's eyebrow raising tauntingly at his sudden words. "Something seems to have you very excited. May I ask what exactly, Young Master? Is it that you have finally begun corresponding Ms. Fukawa's feelings and are excited for a romantic weekend?"

He rolled his eyes at the jab. The man was lucky he valued his service way too much to fire him. "Spare the horrendous thought, Pennyworth." He said before letting the smirk he had been holding back since the case was laid out in front of him. "It's just that... let's just say that it's the first time that I have been presented with something interesting in a long, long while."

A small silence made itself present before Aloysius unexpectedly responded. "Have you finally realized the potential of Genocide Jill's tongue?"

"Do not push your luck, Pennyworth."

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

**Monochrome Blues**

**Begin!**

* * *

**July 27th, 2017**

Unsurprisingly, the couple were waiting for him outside.

After the car stopped in front of the complex, he waved his hand at Aloysius, to which he exited the vehicle with the DNA kit. After exchanging short greetings, he gave Kirigiri the kit and the small bag of buccal swabs. The woman then gave Makoto a peck on the lips (Could they not refrain from doing these things in public? He was right there.) and headed of towards the apartment.

After the detective was out of sight, and some (frankly inane) complaints from Makoto about Aloysius opening the door to the vehicle, they were all inside the car. After some uncomfortable shuffling from the shorter man, said brownette finally spoke up. "So... where are we going? You did say you'd tell me today..."

"That, in actuality, depends on you." He responded, his companion becoming quite puzzled at the answer.

"Wh-What? Why me? Byakuya, did you... Did you not... plan ahead, by any chance?" Makoto said, making the blonde furrow his brow.

"Do not make such foolish assumptions. I now where we are going, I just need something you posses to know where exactly." Byakuya explained. "I understand that, when Kirigiri asked you to come pick her, Asahina and the girl up from the alleyway, she sent you the location." Makoto nodded, realization gracing his face. "Very well, I would like you to give your phone to Aloysius so he can get us there."

Makoto did as he was told, with slight reluctance, which Byakuya noticed quite easily.

"Stop fretting over a possible invasion of what's in your messages. For what it is worth, I promise he will not snoop around in what you and Kirigiri do in private." He told Makoto, to which the other man's face went completely red as he started stuttering what was most likely a denial that there was anything there. Incomprehensible objection which he did not get to finish, as Aloysius started vehicle and they went on their way towards the notorious alleyway.

After five minutes of silence, in which Makoto's features finally left the the hottest hues of pink, his companion spoke up again. 

"Byakuya... can I ask you another question?" He waited for the man in question to look at him in acknowledgement before he continued. "Why did you bring me? You're planning on searching the place where the girl first appeared, correct? To find anything we might have missed the day before, right? If the job is to investigate the crime scene in a revision of sorts, why not bring Kyoko along instead of me? She is on a whole 'nother level compared to me, and I could have done the DNA job easily as well."

Just like Byakuya had presumed he would, Makoto questioned his involvement in his plans. And, just like planned, he presented his excuse. "Yes, Kirigiri is the Ultimate Detective for a reason. I will even admit that she has even more talent than myself in this specific department. However, the reason why I didn't bring **her** along is because we simply do not mesh well together." Makoto seemed concerned by his words, which Byakuya immediately took the chance to address. "Calm down, Makoto. It is not an issue of either of us having any type of heavy dislike of each other, as you should be well aware. It is majorly about the fact that Kirigiri and I have very different investigation methods, which would clash if we ever were to investigate a crime scene in conjunction."

"OK, I can... understand **that** , but... why me?" He asked in baseless ignorance that had somehow persisted though the years of his and Kirigiri's influence. He sighed, before he explained the obvious.

"Like I said yesterday, you have proven yourself competent enough in the field of investigation. That, and you are versatile enough in said field. You are equally adaptable to both solitary and group investigation, despite not being necessarily a 'good' investigator. It is also quite easy to bounce ideas of of you." He them gave him a smirk before saying. "Besides, it'll be quite pleasing to find something that the detective might have missed and lord it over her. After all, she cannot get too big a head concerning her abilities."

That shut Makoto up, an awkward smile showing he did not know how to respond to his statement. His statements effects were intentional of course. Partly to cease the pointless blabbing about things that he should have already figured out, yes. But it was also because he could not discuss his rhetoric much more without some type of hole made itself known in his story. 

What he had told him wasn't necessarily a lie. He **did** think that he and Kirigiri did not do well when working together, and he **did** value his worth as an assistant. However, these were not the main idea behind his invitation.

He had noticed, during the previous day's discussion, the gloominess that uncharacteristically surrounded the headmaster. The moment he had confirmed there was a reason behind it, he had decided that **he** would be the one to breach said topic with him. So, while he was explaining his plan for how they would progress the case, he set things up so he could not only gather evidence without interference from Kirigiri, who would no doubt have meddled if he said where he wanted to go, but also so he could get Makoto to spill exactly what was holding him back from actually contributing to the investigation. Two birds with one stone. 

About nine minutes after that short conversation, they arrived and exited in front of, curiously enough, an office building that belonged to his conglomerate. Makoto, who had evidently not noticed who the building belonged to the last time he was here, turned to the blonde wide-eyed. 

"You think that..." began the brownette.

"Yes. The location of the girl was most definitely intentional." He finished. While this idea was heavily suggested by the coincidental encounter the two women had the day beforehand, the proximity to the Togami Office, where the chance of Byakuya getting wind of the girl increased substantially, all but confirmed it. 

Byakuya gestured at the alleyway. "Well, what are we standing around for? Let's do what we came here to do." He said before heading into said alley, hearing a small 'ok' from Makoto as he followed suit.

Like Kirigiri had said, the alleyway looked empty. You could see it stretch until it rounded the offices and went left. He looked up, and saw absolutely no security cameras. Shame. It would have helped to know what happened during the set-up for the body. When he looked at the ground, however, what actually caught his attention wasn't the emptiness of the alley, but rather the incorrectness of Kirigiri's statement.

He walked towards the object, kneeled and picked it up. It was a small USB drive, the exact same color as the pavement, with a small white thread stuck onto it. _'Interesting'_ Makoto, who was now at his side, looked curiously at the drive.

"Huh... That's weird. We didn't see this yesterday. Do you think it was set up here afterwards?" He asked.

"Maybe, or perhaps it was the dark that hid its presence. Either way, we will definitely look into its contents later on." Byakuya said before stuffing the drive in his pocket and lifting himself off the ground.

"OK, I'm guessing we found everything." Makoto said before scanning the alleyway one more time. "Yup. There is nothing as far as the eye can see. Do we... leave now?"

"Actually, Makoto, there is still another matter we need to attend to." He pierced his gaze with as much seriousness as he could manage, meaning the other man immediately straightened up with concern.

"What is it Byakuya?" He inquired.

"Naegi." He said with the most force he could muster to inject his voice with, deciding to just cut to the point. "What is your issue with this situation?"

The brownette flinched as his eyes widened, only letting out a small "Huh?"

"You were quite during the majority of the conversation. Specifically when we discussed the possibility of Maizono having faked her death somehow. Normally, you would be up and rambling about 'trusting our friends' and attempting to disprove the theory. And yet, you didn't speak up until we had almost completely disproven the theory. And I would like to know **why**?" He laid out his reasoning as the other man grew paler.

Makoto started flailing his arms around, stuttered speech being the only thing he could muster. "N-N-No! I-It's n-not like th-that! I just- I just didn't think I could contribute anything! Tha-That's all!" 

Byakuya furrowed his brow, irritated by his rebuttals, despite expecting said desperate, senseless comebacks. "We both know you are at least above that. And even if you had any ideas you thought would help, why didn't you ask any questions, or at least try to calm Jill down when she had her 'breakdown'? I am not buying your excuses, Naegi. Tell. Me. **What.** **Happened.** "

His companion stopped his sporadic movements and looked like a rabbit trapped into a corner. "I... I-"

The explanation he had worked so hard to obtain did not come right then however, because, before Makoto could say anything else, ringing started coming from his pocket, startling both men. The brownette pulled out his phone and directed himself to Byakuya after taking a look at the screen. "It's Kyoko.... I- I think I should take this." He stepped away from Byakuya and took the call while still facing him. Which awarded him to... quite the spectacle. Immediately after the first sound of a muffled voice came through the phone, Makoto's skin went into an even paler shade of white. He quickly answered whatever he was being told with "On our way!" before hanging up and staring at his phone in complete shock, as if it had just told him a family member had died in an accident.

Byakuya got closer to him, and after a few moments, when Makoto finally looked up at him, he shot him a question. "What did she tell you? What just happened?"

Makoto's eyes shook in distress he had not seen them in since... the first murder. And when he spoke, Byakuya knew why. "T-The girl... she... she's awake."

Normally, Byakuya would have been internally pleased at this development, now having the chance to both search the USB and interrogate the now-awake woman. But...

For some reason, Makoto's shaking and terrified expression stopped these emotions from manifesting. It was almost like... his companion's reaction, and the still unsolved mystery of why he was like this... prevented it from happening. Not knowing what might happen once Makoto and the girl were face-to-face.... killed any amount of joy that could have possibly been present. In less than a day, the biggest mystery that Byakuya had been presented in a long while...

...had completely lost its flavor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have Chapter 3! We get organization! Jack's horrible, horrible dilemmas! And Byakuya being less Byakuya-y than usual!  
> It's been even smoother sailing for this chapter, and I am already working on the next one before the end of the week. Now, something I noticed is that, currently, 20% of the words in this work are within the notes, so I have decided to keep these short and, for any dumbass that thinks my ramblings are somewhat coherent or interesting, I'll be releasing a new work specifically for my rambling alongside Chapter 4 next Sunday.  
> Anyways, this week we have this other video: https://youtu.be/kEbxqQB4qpc It uses the ending for the first anime and is, in my opinion, doing an even better job. The artwork is SO GOOD! The flashes of before the Tragedy are also such a cool touch. Love it so goddamn much.  
> I would also like to thank everyone for over 100 hits! The idea that a hundred people have seen this story is INSANE, and it keeps me going, honestly.  
> Anyways, compliments, critiscm and questions are all accepted and encouraged, and I will see all of you next time! Pop off and stay safe!


	4. Everything hits Sayaka Maizono at once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayaka wakes up.

**July 27th, 2017**

She breathed in.

Sayaka felt like she hadn't actually taken in a good chunk of air in quite a while. Truth was, if she wasn't so... weirdly tired, she would have been gasping for air and breathing a lot more erratically. In all truth, her current state was quite the contrast to the hyperventilating state she was in when she...

She didn't.... remember... D-Did she fall asleep? Did she... it felt like she should not have slept through the night... that was strange. Why would she...

 _'You can think about that later. Right now, you should probably get up and ready for the morning meeting. Wouldn't want Taka to chew you out, after all.'_ She thought before opening her eyes.

She... wasn't in her room. Or... any room within the school, as far as she knew. She had only looked at the roof and she had immediately had that realization. That was an immediate red flag. The last time she woke up in a room she was certain she hadn't been in when she was asleep...

...she had been thrown into the Killing Game.

She did not miss the invasive feeling of dread consuming her every thought. **Although,** she guessed it was nice to have forgotten about her current situation, even if it was for... what? A couple of seconds? She didn't real remember. At least she enjoyed whatever short span of time And while she could feel herself start to panic, she suppressed it as best as she could. She... knew losing it would not help her. Especially since she didn't know if there was anyone there that could help her. So, she took a couple of slightly shaky breaths and actually took in the room. Or.... well.... the room's roof. She apparently didn't have enough energy to move yet. Why was she so tired?

Her eyes were accustomed to the dark, which benefited her greatly in taking it the unlit room. The room seemed slightly more than half the size of the room she was assigned after she was locked into the school. The walls were a pale, dark blue, a stark contrast to the bright red-colored walls from the dorm rooms she was familiar with.

 _'Wait. Rooms?'_ she was suddenly struck by the wording within her on reasoning. _'Why **rooms**? I've never been to anyone's room but my own! Well, there's also Makoto's bu-'_

Her eyes widened.

Dear God, what was she thinking, going to sleep like that!? Sh-She'd wasted her shot! Her chance to save her friends! To get some sort of police to save them! To... to save her dream...

The incredibly uncomfortable feeling of squeezing returned to her stomach, the guilt that consumed her the day before coming back in full force. She... tried her best to ignore it for the moment. She would much rather hate herself for wasting her chance to escape and save her friends from whatever hell Monokuma was subjecting them to than hate herself for the disgusting act she had resolved to commit. That would involve... thinking about it. And she knew **damn** well that, if she considered the morality of the situation, she would completely lose the nerve she had just barely gathered the day before. And she just... could not afford that. And it that vein of thought, she started to gather a recollection of what she remembered from the day before.

She remembered quite vividly how she went through some of the early steps of the plan. She had blatantly lied to Makoto in order to change rooms. _'DON'T THINK ABOUT HOW FUCKING WRONG THAT WAS OF YOU, YOU WON'T GET ANYWHERE IF YOU DO!'_ She had gotten the knife from the kitchen, and hid it well enough when she passed by Hina and Ogami. And then, a couple of minutes after the nighttime announcement had played, made sure to slide her message under Leon's door. What happened after she had gone back to Makoto's room was a... blur. She... remembered waiting, pacing around the room, trying her best not to stew too long in her own guilt. But... she didn't remember deciding to go to sleep, **or** the baseball star having arrived, which certainly did not help her in getting a handle on what had happened. Maybe... he just didn't come? He might have been asleep, or simply didn't see the note. Or maybe he decided that breaking the nighttime rule imposed by Celeste, especially after... whatever those videos were was too dangerous. If she was being honest, she should have accounted for that. She just took for granted that Leon, a guy she had only talked to about five or six more times than to everyone else, would obey her quite evidently dangerous command no matter the very visible consequences it could have on him. That.... **probably** said something about how she viewed both herself and others. Something she **also** suppressed before it could join the pile of worries that were slowly weighing down on her already fragile consciousness.

So... she must have slept through the night when she realized he wasn't coming. Or maybe she'd fallen asleep before he arrived, and didn't open the door for him when he did. Either way, that still didn't explain why she awoke in a room that clearly wasn't in any part of the school she had been to. Was she... moved in her sleep again, maybe? But if she was, then why? And how? Monokuma had taken four pop superstars hostage _'NOT KILLED, NOT MURDERED, THEY'RE ALIVE, THEY CAN'T BE DEAD'_ and no one had been able to stop him, or even was **aware** of it as far as she knew! No one could have just... stopped him! ...Or had they? Maybe... maybe law enforcement had finally broken into the school and saved them from that bear...

But... if that was true, then why hadn't she been woken up? They **must** have woken her up when they evacuated her from the building, right? Would she... even remember if she did? No, she **would** remember, right? She just fell asleep and didn't remember a short span of time before that.... right? Nothing about the theory made sense....

...but the other option was one they didn't even begin wanting to consider.

The idea that someone, or something, or **anything** more powerful than Monokuma, and it had decided to override the bear's machinations to target the specifically... it made her want to vomit. If they hadn't woken her up, the- they thought that she wouldn't cooperate with whatever they had planned an- and if th- that was t-true then, whatever wa- was happe- happening was worse than-

 _'FOCUS!'_ she mentally slapped herself. _'THAT IS **NOT** HAPPENING RIGHT NOW! Nothing, **nothing** can be worse than whatever was happening back then! Just- you need to focus.' _Her breath was more erratic and she could feel herself shaking quite visibly, but she pushed her own thought storm into submission. Nothing would come from her own fear, and she needed to get somewhere with her thoughts if she wanted to even get the vaguest of ideas of what was happening. 

She... **had** to have been saved. That or, sadly, most likely, she was still trapped within the school, and Monokuma had moved her to a room she wasn't familiar with just yet. Whatever the truth was, she needed to get up as soon as possible.

She tried move her left hand. It did. Good, she had gathered enough energy for that. She tried to move her right hand. It took a bit more work, but it also moved. She then tried to move herself up against the back of the bed, which she just barely managed to accomplish. Now laying in a pseudo-sitting position, she could finally take in the rest of the room. 

There was a turned off TV at the center of the wall opposite to the bed, and there was a counter placed on either side of the bed. The bed's purple covers, while a bit ruffled, hadn't been draped over her. There were a couple of marked photographs, people featured in them too small for her to recognize their features, hung up on the wall to her right, next to which there was a small corridor which led to somewhere, probably a door to outside the room. And, to her left, there was a small window, which was covered by closed, lavender drape-

**Window**

She almost jumped out of the bed, reaching out for the window. And the next second, her muscles ached as if a million knifes had been stuck into her whole body, which made her falter and fall flat on her face. Which hurt. **A lot.** Obviously. However, she shuffled and moved to stand nonetheless, even if it was accomplished by leaning on the wall. Seriously, why was she so tired!? She didn't do anything **that** draining yesterday.... right?

It didn't matter much to her, however, as she slowly moved towards her hope, and shifted herself so she would lean against the wall opposite to the bed. Slowly she lifted her left hand, trembling in a small sense of fear and euphoria, and moved the curtains out of the way...

Light.

All her brain registered was the light coming from outside the window. Nothing else existed for her overwhelmed brain. It was sunlight. As in light from the Sun. **The Sun.** Something she had feared she would never see again. It inundated her eyes like water slowly filling a glass. It hurt quite a lot to look at, having been in the dark for... God knew how long, but she couldn't stop staring at the outside, only caring about the very existence of the light. The very concept of its existence almost hypnotized her. Still, once she had stared at it for a couple of minutes, one thought finally appeared within her mind, and she could not help but express said wonderous thought aloud to the nothingness of the room.

"We... we really are... out of there..." She said aloud and, before continuing to stare at the sunlight, or even before anything else could come to her mind, she found that she wasn't the only person in the room. 

"I was wondering who it was who mad that noise." Sayaka heard a... somewhat familiar voice say from behind her. "So it was you. You're finally awake." She turned around so fast she almost lost her balance and fell onto the floor, and when she did, she saw something she did not expect.

She saw Kirigiri.

Well, while it was true she did not expect her, her surprise came more from how she looked. Instead of having her hair as loose as she always did, she had it pulled back into a ponytail, only letting two strands of it go not pulled back at the sides of her face. She was wearing a white blouse, long black jeans and black dress shoes. It was a far cry from the schoolgirl-ish attire she was always in. It was a strange sight however, not because of what she was wearing, but because she had changed at all. When she had gotten to the school, she had found her closet filled with the exact same outfit repeated six times, and nothing else. She'd assumed that it was the same for everyone else, considering how nobody ever changed out of what they were wearing the first day. The other woman was looking at her with the same strange curiousness that was always present in her eyes, in a... more open manner than usual. And, not as surprisingly, but more importantly, she seemed to know what was happening to her.

"Kirigiri!" Sayaka said, shifting so her back was safely against the wall. "What's going on here!? Th-the window! I-It's not blocked! D-Did we f-find a way out!? Did we-"

"Calm down." The other woman said, effectively shutting up the pop star's rambling. "If your words are anything to go by, you are not aware of current events in the slightest. Now, before you get any type of explanation, I would like to know something. What is the last thing you remember?"

While Sayaka thought that it was more imperative to at least know **where** exactly she was, this thought was overshadowed by the conscious effort to hide how her breath hitched, something that, if the other woman noticed, she did not show outwardly. And this was because she... had been waiting for Leon to get to her room so... so she could kill him and get out of the school.... and she absolutely could not let her know that!

"I... I remember I was in my room. After those videos, I- I just couldn't sleep, and... well...if we're being honest, it's kind of a blur what happened after that..." She half-lied. While she wasn't necessarily faking her confusion, or lying about what she remembered, she couldn't afford to have anyone know about what happened in all exactitude. She did not think she could continue to stand tall under all of the judgmental stares she knew she would receive. 

Kirigiri looked at her with a deeply thoughtful expression, as if she was measuring what to include in her response based on what she said next. "Are you sure that you remember absolutely nothing after that?" She asked the pop star. The queries about a hypothetical series of events that she would normally be able to remember was quite worrying, but Sayaka didn't insist. 

"I- I told you, I don't remember anything that happened after.... I believe I went to sleep? I am... not quite sure..." She responded, this time with a complete truth.

The other girl hummed and looked curiously at Sayaka before turning around and heading towards the door she came in from. "Follow me. I would much rather have this conversation about elsewhere." Even though Sayaka was slightly intimidated by the calm, ominous air around the other girl, she pushed that fear aside in favor of a... more urgent matter.

"Um... Kirigiri?" she called.

The lavender-haired girl, who was in the middle of exiting the bedroom, stopped the motion and looked back at her. "Is something the matter?" 

Sayaka sweat-dropped slightly while giving the other girl a small, nervous smile. "I am a bit weak at the moment, so... well, as you can see, I can't stand without support from something so... I might not be able to move without some... assistance?" 

"Ah, of course." The woman just walked up to her with, thankfully enough, no annoyance present in her eyes or tone. "Very well. Put your hand over my shoulder. That should be enough, considering you made it to the window on your own." It wasn't too long before they were out of the bedroom and into a different room completely.

Thanks to the whole minute she spent looking at the Sun like an awestruck idiot, light, whether it be sunlight or artificial light, didn't hurt her eyes anymore, which helped her immensely when walking into the well lit room. Now that she saw another room in the location, she was able to realize they were in a small apartment. The door led into some sort of living room, which was directly connected to a small kitchen. Within the living area were a small sofa and an armchair surrounding a small table with a couple of files and a flashlight on it. From where she was, she could see a small coffee machine and a table with four chairs, an odd number for an apartment that specific size. Kirigiri led her to the sofa, where Sayaka laid down with a small 'poof' coming from the cushions. The other woman looked at her briefly. "Wait here, I need to make a call." She walked off to the kitchen, where she spent a surprisingly short amount of time making the phone call in. Once the other woman came back and sat down on the armchair, the bluenette finally began her questioning. 

"Kirigiri, I- I really need context here... I- could you please explain what is happening here? W-where are we?" She asked the other woman.

"Why do you ask? It is quite obvious that we are in my apartment." The other woman said with a smirk that could almost be described as cocky.... a smirk which's presence she couldn't comprehend in the slightest, alongside everything she had said.

"Wha- What do you mean by that it's obvious? What happened to the- to the Killing Game? Why are w-we outside? Where e-exactly is this place?" She asked the other woman, quite honestly confused. While she knew Kirigiri was a bit of a mystery among her classmates, this was something else entirely! The other woman didn't seem like she wanted to tell her anything at all, saying things like- like she should know about everything that was happening!

The moment she stopped talking though, the other woman dropped the thoughtful look she'd donned beforehand in favor of... something much more terrifying. She looked at Sayaka like... she was a monster. Something completely disgusting, that had no excuse for its own existence. Something she despised with all of her soul. She had revealed something that she had been hiding all this time, which Sayaka could not help but recoil at, the tonal whiplash this change established scaring her out of her mind.

"You can drop the forgetful façade. It is quite easy to see through it you know?" She told her while leaning forward slightly. "You are a good actress, I shall grant you that. But you are a complete and utter fool if you seriously thought you are a complete fool if you thought I would fall for a trick this basic and illogical."

 _'What'_ If she could have phased through the couch and gotten farther away from the woman, she would have. It was like every single second longer she spent looking into her eyes, she came a little bit closer to screaming and calling for help. She stared at her in a way that made her feel inferior. It was almost like she was looking down at her, disappointed at her performance in... whatever they were doing. Like she was on a whole 'nother plane of thought. Like they were in a chess match, and while Sayaka was thinking of her first move, Kirigiri was thinking of how to win an entire tournament. And while she could have very well stewed in that sense of inferiority and fear the eyes of the woman's eyes caused in her for a good, long while, that wasn't what scared her the most about her. It was... her words. 'Forgetful façade'.

She... she knew. About Leon. She knew about Leon. She knew she was omitting details about what happened. Somehow, she **knew** that she wasn't telling the whole, entire truth back then.

"You- you know abou- about h-him? What I- What I did? What I tr-tried to do? To.. to him?" She asked, hoping to get any amount of information that helped in knowing whether one of her worst fears had become a reality. 

Kirigiri, however, remained unimpressed. "Still sticking to your character, I see?" She scoffed, baffling the pop star once again. "Or is this act actually a lie that Sayaka is using? I am not quite sure yet. However, as your probably did not plan ahead for, I have a way to find out." She then stood up from the armchair and grabbed the flashlight from the table. She had not paid much mind to it but, now that she looked at it, it did not look like an ordinary flashlight. The handle was green, and the area around the lens was blue. However, what truly set her apart from a normal flashlight was the buttons. It had about five of them, and it had a tiny screen and some sort of dial above said buttons. But, clearly, noticing its evident strangeness, it didn't help the confusion she felt at the idea that a flashlight would be an efficient way to make **anyone** talk. In fact, she was confused about... quite literally everything the lavender-haired girl had told her. 

"What do you mean 'find out'? What 'character'? What 'lie'? Please Kirigiri, I truly don't understand anything that's happening he-" She was interrupted by a sudden movement in front of her face. She... she had a flashlight pointed at her face. She looked up at the other girl, who was now directly in front of her. 

"Allow me to present this to you in terms 'you' can understand." She said, still paying no heed to her words or queries. "This little thing here is a flashback light. It has been modified and upgraded by the best within the Future Foundation to not only have improvements upon its original features, but also to work with Yasuke Matsuda's last neurological 'wonder'?" She made sure to pause for a couple of seconds before continuing. "Now, **here** is what is going to happen. You are either going to drop the charade and tell me what I want to know, or..." She cranked up the dial, and the front of the flashlight started faintly glowing white. "I will erase a couple of days. Then I shall find just whoever this beautiful actress was back then. And if I don't get anything then, well..." She gave her a small smirk. "I'll just have a bit of... 'fun'."

To say Sayaka was dumbfounded would be severely underestimating the sheer confusion she was in. "Wha...?" She was... truly lost. The normally stoic and sidelined Kirigiri was threatening her with pointing at her with a flashlight directly at her face? What did she... What was going on?

She pushed a button, and the light started becoming ever brighter. "I'll give you five seconds. You can tell me, or I can force it out of you. One..." The woman started.

"What!? What do you mean force-"

"Two."

"-it out of me? Why are you doing-"

"Three."

"-this? What is that flashlight going to-"

"Four."

Sayaka, just then realizing that, no matter what she could say, the other woman wouldn't listen, closed her eyes in fear, hoping that it was enough to block whatever the flashlight would do to her, and waited for the five....

...And it didn't come.

The bluenette, in fear of Kirigiri not using the light because she was waiting for her to open her eyes, shut them close for about a minute. However, over that small span of time her fear of consequence was slowly overshadowed by a feeling of confusion at the lack of events, and started to open them slowly, only to see the flashlight laying on the table in front of her, and the lavender-haired girl prancing around the room, a thoughtful and quite noticeably shocked expression. "You closed your eyes... this changes quite a lot...." she said, a hand in her chin while trailing through the living room.

Sayaka, like the rest of the time she had spent with Kirigiri that day, just stared at her in confusion. "Wha- What does thi-"

"The flashback light is a device that targets the brainwaves directly and deliberately. The 'flashlight' part of it is mostly for dramatic flair. Yasuke Matsuda invented technology that erases specific sets of memories. These two combined would have meant you closing your eyes would have done nothing to detain the memory erasure. And you **would** have known about both of these facts if either of my initial theories were true..." While she was thankful the other woman was no longer glaring at her in disgust, she was now even more preoccupied with the idea that she had been about to lose all of her memories without knowing.

"WHAT!!??" She loudly exclaimed before she felt a sharp pain in her chest and falling into a coughing fit. The other woman continued nevertheless.

"You were completely unaware of the functioning of the flashback light, meaning she had no memories from before 2015, maybe further, and you are completely unaware of Yasuke Matsuda's invention, meaning.... that there is no way you couldn't have been collaborating with the remnants... if you fit into either of these categories, you would have slapped the light away or moved out of the way, no matter the situation... your reaction completely fits in with your actions up until now... which means-" her eyes widened as she came to a stop, seemingly having arrived at a terrible realization. She did not get to delve too much in it however, because Sayaka, tired of being kept in the dark, finally decided to put her foot down.

"Kirigiri! I hope I am not too rude here, but I am quite **sick** of being left in the dark here! So, for the love of all that is good and holy, could you **please** tell me what is going on!?"

The other girl turned to her and, with an expression that you **could** describe as apologetic, she spoke. "Right... I do believe that I have been what could be perceived as... irresponsible... in laying out the situation, and I promise I will explain why, but I suppose I should get to the 'explaining' bit first, should I not?" She then sat back down and seemed to slightly deflate, despite most of the tension choosing to remain in her shoulders. She sighed tiredly, almost preparing for a long journey. "So, where would you like for me to begin?"

She sighed in a humongous amount of relief, almost having expected another deviation from the topic. "First thing is that I... would like to know what happened. I mean... Monokuma made it look impossible, made it actually impossible as far as we were aware! Did... did the police find out about the whole thing?" Kirigiri, unexpectedly, looked to the side, looking quite... conflicted, which was just another thing she did not expect to see that day.

"The Killing Game ended. Yes, that is true. However, while some forms of law enforcement **did** attempt to stop Monokuma, they were not the ones to end the Killing Game. It was actually us, the remaining students, that ended that game, and we did this by discovering that there was a mastermind in our midst, and exactly who it was."

"B-but why do I not remember any of this? What about... 'remaining' students? What happened that school that I can't seem to remember? Where are the rest of our classmates? A-And the videos! What happened to my bandmates? T-To whoever was in y-your video!? A-A- And everyone else's!?" Kirigiri faltered slightly before she spoke, a certain reluctance in answering her questions, making all of Sayaka's worries and insecurities come to the very front of her mind.

"While I do have my theories on the amnesiac state you appear to be in at this instant, it is nothing but speculation and it would do nothing but confuse you further. As for everyone who appeared in those videos, they were found eventually, most of them being able to be rescued alive." Sayaka nearly started to hyperventilate before the lavender-haired girl spoke again. "All of yur bandmates are safe and sound."

This obviously managed to do quite a lot to calm her down but, like most of what happened that day, that moment of bliss was immediately followed by a horrid, heart wrenching realization:

She had almost killed a man. 

She had almost killed Leon. She had almost framed Makoto for her crime. She had almost forced the only boy she actually cared about within the school to not only take the blame for her crime, but she had almost also caused everyone else to perish in a fit of panic. She- She had been about to kill fourteen people her age, directly and indirectly, to do something they had, apparently, been able to do without any violence or killing. She... had almost become a monster.

A- And while she was sorely tempted to hate herself for as long as she lived, she decided to postpone that for a while when Kirigiri's words made a brand new feeling itself known from within her chest: concern. 

"A- And what about... everyone else? W-Where are they?" She gulped before tacking on another question. "Y-You said it was the 'remaining students' who discovered who the mastermind was... d-did something happen to the others?" Kirigiri once again seemed to falter before answering her.

"I do not think there is a single way to put the truth lightly, so I will just tell you upfront: Just because we defeated Monokuma does not mean he wasn't able to... 'motivate' some of us before it ended." Sayaka's heart almost stopped. _'Just like... he almost did with me....'_ "The only ones to make it out alive after we defeated the mastermind were myself, Togami, Makoto, Hina, Ishimaru and Fukawa." she explained, making the bluenette's eyes widen considerably.

That meant that.... everyone else was dead. Hiro, Ogami, Junko, Owada, Yamada, Fujisaki, Celeste... and Leon... they were all dead. I- It was almost too... real. She knew she had planned to do something that would result in a similar, even worse situation but... to actually **know** this many people were dead... it was... surreal. How had she even **lived** through that? And how in hell did she not remember **any** of this!? How could she ever forget something this horr-

 _'Wait.'_ A sudden thought came to the forefront of her mind. _'When she talked about who ad survived she- she didn't mention-'_

"Wait a minute..." She said, making the other woman look away, almost having expected what she was going to ask. "W-When you t-told me who had survived, y-you didn't mention... you didn't mention me." Kirigiri sighed at her statement, having clearly been dreading addressing what she brought up, which did nothing to slow down Sayaka's rapidly rising heartbeat.

"Do you remember what I said before? That what you were doing, how you were acting, was nothing more than an 'act' or a 'character'?" Sayaka nodded at that. "It was because I just... simply could not believe that you were **you.** Or if you were, that you were on my side. Before the experiment with the flashlight, it seemed completely impossible." It did not look like it, but Sayaka was fighting against herself. She was fighting against the own fastening of her heartbeat, against the involuntary shaking of her whole body, and against the feeling of dread that colored her every thought. Because.... because it was impossible... because there was no way she...

"What... do you mean, Kirigiri?" She asked the other woman, voice even shakier than before. "Wh- Why couldn't I have been... me?" Kirigiri sighed once again, and then revealed something that was completely impossible.

"Because you were supposed to be dead. We saw your corpse, and confirmed it was yours specifically. For all intents and purposes, you have been dead for years."

....

....

....

....

....

"...what?" she didn't ask. She more so stated her confusion out loud. The... very idea that what the other girl said being reality was completely inane. Insane. Impossible. Not possible. Not real. No way what she just said was real. There was no way! No way! **NO WA-**

"Maizono." She felt a Kirigiri's hand on her shoulder, the woman now having returned to being directly in front of her, and she was immediately snapped back to reality. If... you could even call it that anymore.

When she did, she started feeling a firm grip on both her arms, and when she turned her head to look at them, she found.... herself. She was gripping her own arms. Holding onto them for dear life, something she tended to do whenever nervous, with strength that she did not know her own body was even close to capable of. She also noticed how quickly her heart was beating, so fast it sounded less like beating and more like it was being shook by an external force. And... she also noticed...

Just how much she still couldn't believe it. 

"H- How?" She asked the other woman. "How? How could everyone had thought I was dead? I'm still **here,** right!? I never went through with what I planned, I don't remember doing it, so how could I have died!? **How could I ha** -" she was once again stopped by the same, sudden pain in her chest, which was followed by another erratic coughing fit. The lavender-haired girl, calm and strangely understanding, tried to calm her down.

"I..." She sighed. "I know this is hard to believe. if we are being honest for a second, I hardly believe everything myself. We are especially in the dark after my first two theories went out of the window thanks to what I discovered earlier. But, I assure you, we will arrive at the truth. And for that, I must request your full cooperation."

"I... don't understand.... anything... this all.... how.... how did I...."

"Supposedly die?" She interrupted her, to which the pop star immediately shrank under her sight, the knowing look telling half of the story. "You invited a trained athlete to your room in order to attack him. Your last set of memories is you waiting for him, am I wrong? What do you think happened?" She asked her in a rhetorical fashion, and everything went blank as she felt something unlock in the back of her mind.

_'I-I- I actually went through with it... I actually tried to k-kill him, an- and I.... **I...** '_

The buzzing of a phone suddenly cut of the disastrous storm of thoughts her mind currently was. Kirigiri brought said phone out of her phone and looked at the screen. She gave her a small look, which appeared to contain.... some type of pity, before she answered it.

"What is the matter?" A pause. "What do you mean he won't come up?" Another pause. "I understand why he wouldn't be exactly ecstatic, but why wouldn't he-" Apparently she was interrupted, because she stopped and stayed silent for a while, in which her eyes widened and her posture straightened considerably. "It is worse than I thought. I am on my way down. He can't avoid the issue if it's both of us there." A final pause before she answered a question the caller had made. "She'll be... fine on her own. Besides, we can easily resolve whatever happens afterwards with him back in his usual state. That is why **this** is more important." She listened to something the caller said before hanging up.

"Who- Who was it?" While Sayaka was on the verge of breaking down, she could not help but try and ask that question.

"It was Togami. He is downstairs." She said, making the bluenette slightly wary. She didn't know the blonde all that well, but she knew how he generally behaved. While she... very clearly deserved every scathing insult that came out of his mouth, she couldn't help but still by afraid. She doubted she could find enough strength to even breathe after he came upstairs and started attacking her where it would hurt the most. Like she knew he would.

And, like the fool she was, Sayaka decided to ask one final question. "A-And why are you going d-downstairs with him?"

Kirigiri pondered for a second before answering. "Makoto is downstairs." Her breathing stopped, but nevertheless the other girl continued. "He refuses to come up, saying he would make the situation worse. I suspect there is an ulterior motive there, and Togami and I are going to confront him about it. You stay here. We'll be back in a couple of minutes." Kirigiri explained, before standing up, leaving the kneeling position the shocked Sayaka hadn't realized she was in, and left the apartment. 

While Sayaka... merely sat there. She stayed put. She stayed completely still. She could have screamed, she could have started hyperventilating, she could have reacted in any erratic or frantic way. But she stayed still.

Because... even though everything made sense, even though everything fit into place, nothing did. Not anymore. Not since the beginning of the Killing Game, that had apparently started years beforehand. Not since she saw that video where her bandmates were laying on the floor, looking pale, unmoving and... dead. Not since she decided that there was no line she wouldn't cross to protect her own selfish dream. And now... in this illogical world, with absolutely nothing left that she recognized from her previous life, she would have to confront the one constant in every stage of it: Makoto Naegi. The boy she tried to pin he blame of her 'master plan' on. The boy who, despite the gigantic heart she knew he had (and actively tried to take advantage of), couldn't forgive something like this. No one could. And... it felt fitting. That she came back from the dead, somehow, only to face something like this. 

And so, as something within her finally clicked, and the rest of her memories from what was supposed to be her last night on Earth returned, she basked in them, showering herself in the pain she knew wasn't nearly enough to punish her crimes. Not even close.

She didn't have enough strength to cry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO PEOPLE I HAVE AN OFFERING FOR YOU! A CHAPTER THAT IS FOURTH! WITH AMNESIA! REVEALS! KYOKO BEING KYOKO! FLASHBACK LIGHTS?!!! (what was that about ;D) AND ANGST! LOTS AND LOTS OF ANGST!  
> This is the longest chapter yet, with 6204 words of chapter content. Which is great. AND, this chapter, we have entered a small section of the story that we will be in for a couple of chapters. You thought we would never leave July 26th? This will be even LONGER, guys. With LONGER chapters, meaning I have my work cut out for me. Dear Lord. Well, not like I don't enjoy this. This is a blast to make :]  
> Anyways, a couple of important notices. First off, I have a new work! Whoever thought about skipping, relax. I am not starting another fic. I already have enough work with this. It's more of a place where I can relax from writing story and just get these thoughts out of my head and into the world. SO, if you want to get some insight into how this fic came into existence, what went into making the chapters, a couple of fun facts about the process, and WHATEVER THE HELL ELSE I ramble about, here is a link!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29682876/chapters/72987552 Updates will be irregular. Basically, whenever the fuck I feel like writing shit down and publishing it will be when it is updated.  
> Second, I have done a couple of edits so we now have names for "chapters" within the story. And by THAT, I mean the first chapter is now the "prologue" and is called "Never was the only answer until Today". And the Second Chapter onward is our "Chapter 1", and it is called "Monochrome Blues". This is in an effort that (while I cannot reveal the full scale of it just yet) tries to emulate how the game is, in more than a few ways. I hope you're all excited for my "emulation". I have a lot of ideas on how to go about it.  
> Anyway, here is a FANCY LINK!: https://youtu.be/3bmxGS8lypA You've probably seen this if you've searched "Danganronpa Opening" on YouTube, but STILL! If you haven't seen it, SEE IT. It does such a good job at introducing the series with minimal spoilers (discounting that Monaca last name reveal) and it just has a lot of heart behind it. This is the official opening to the whole franchise. At least in my own two eyes. Fucking banger at every level.  
> Anyways, until next time, when we finally deal with whatever I have being doing with Makoto the last few chapters! Compliments, criticism and questions are both accepted and encouraged! And thank you so much for 10 kudos! It means the world to me! Pop off and stay safe!


	5. Kyoko Kirigiri slaps some sense into her boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko realizes her mistake, and heads downstairs to deal with the consequences.

**July 27th, 2017**

This was one of the times Kyoko wished she had learnt from experience.

She considered herself a logical being. Some people saw that as only seeing the possibilities through the most advantageous or beneficial route and not seeing how feelings might factor in, and she found those people's thinking completely and utterly ridiculous. Being a detective, being a **Kirigiri** meant that she saw objects, situations and people through every lens possible, and factored in everything from relationships to personality and logical thinking to solid evidence and everything else that might come up in the investigation to find the one and only truth in the matter. And she took a great amount of pride in that.

And sometimes... she put in **too much** pride in it. In fact, Kyoko sometimes put so much pride in so much pride in the concept and practice of how she viewed the world that, in some instances, she didn't factor in how she herself might feel about a subject matter. She sometimes... forgot that, while she might try her hardest to remain completely unbiased, she was still as human as everyone around her, and that hiding her own emotions didn't mean she didn't posses them. She'd learnt about how much her humanity could interfere with her 'flawless' view of the world when Makoto had refused her request to tell her about what he saw with Ogami and Monokuma before consulting the brawler herself, and Kyoko had, with her own thwarted ideas of how relationships work and how trust functioned, snapped ant him and damaged her relationship with who, at the time, was her biggest ally in the Killing Game. And she had learnt how much her 'logical' view of the world clashed with what she wanted, what she cared about and what was right when she had basically sentenced Makoto to die during the Fifth Class Trial to get more time to figure out who the blackened was. And, after everything that had happened with her father's post-mortem mementos, she made the conscious and active choice to not only start more actively recognizing her own flaws as a person, but to actually go out and explore that more... human side of herself that Makoto, being who he is, had succeeded in bringing out. 

And she didn't just think that she had grown from her previous mindset. She absolutely had. The white under her purple contact was proof of that. Proof that she'd chosen to believe in someone else, in Makoto and his Hope, over what she personally thought was best. She wanted him to live through the Final Killing Game with all of her heart and she had gone through with risking her life because she had learnt to believe in him, even if the odds weren't in his favor, and even though she didn't know if he would make it through after she died. And, despite all the odds, she had managed to get her 'happy ending'. It was almost like the universe was waiting for her to get to where she was emotionally, because, after she woke up and met Makoto near the coast, it was almost as if a chapter of her life had finally come to a close, and a new one began where she could be proud of who she had become. Where she knew she wouldn't be alone. And one where she knew with all certainty that, despite all of the hardships that would inevitably come, things would get better in the end.

That was why, when Byakuya told her about how Makoto had acted when confronted about what happened yesterday, how he looked when she told him about Maizono waking up, and how hard he tried to avoid going upstairs, she couldn't help but feel like it had all been for nothing. 

She had obviously noticed that something was wrong with her boyfriend the night before. How much more 'adamant' he was at the beginning of the first discussion was more than enough proof to her that her fears were confirmed in some way, and this situation **had** , in fact, affected him. And she **had** , in fact, confronted him... and within that confrontation was where the problem she had with herself laid.

* * *

_"Well... I guess we're not sleeping in our own bed tonight...." said Makoto, scratching his cheek with the same awkward smile he donned almost half of the time._

_"Yes, it **would** be quite the irresponsible decision for us to try and move that girl in the state she is currently in." She responded. "I suppose that we'll just have to use the commodities within our living room." _

_"Yeah, seems so..." He said while leaning back on his chair slightly. "So... are we both sleeping on he couch? I don't know if there's enough space for both of us there..."_

_"While I am quite certain that both of us would fit in there, I do not believe it would be wise. It would be quite the uncomfortable experience for us to try and fit in there and sleep through the night. I personally believe it would be best if I slept on the armchair, and you slept on the couch alone."_

_"But... why you on the armchair? You know it's not a recliner, you would have to sleep seated instead of lying down... W-Wouldn't it be better if... **I** take the armchair?" He asked, trivial concern plaguing his face, to which, despite how much she was taking the current situation seriously, she couldn't help but smirk and role her eyes at him._

_"It's not an issue. It's not like I'm bothered by this anymore after all the travelling I do in my profession. Besides, I want to do this for you. So I would appreciate it if you allowed me to." She responded, to which Makoto sighed as he stopped leaning back, stood up from his chair and started walking towards the living room._

_"Yeah... you're right. Thanks Kyoko." He said, a small bout of uncharacteristic tiredness bluntly emanating from his tone, making Kyoko raise and eyebrow and actually ask him the question she had been holding back for a while._

_"Makoto, are you alright? You've been acting quite unusually ever since the alleyway." She inquired, and the man quite quickly stopped his movement under the doorway, turned around to her and spoke.  
_

_"Oh... that. Yeah, I- I'm really sorry about that... It was pretty shocking when I first saw her, yeah.... But! Now that you explained what might have happened here, I'm so much calmer! This whole situation doesn't feel that confusing anymore, even if I... haven't really absorbed everything yet... that and I'm kinda tired..." He said, a nostalgic care gracing his face. While there was a small amount of hesitation in his tone, she know knew it was nothing to worry about. It was honestly quite strange in retrospect, the idea that something like this would manage to stall him._

_If she was being honest with herself though, she was relieved. Now she could plan for what she would do the next day after collecting the DNA sample in peace, with no worry or concern clouding her thoughts. The idea of that made her smile._

_She could always count on him for things like that._

* * *

That night she had wrongfully assumed that what he was saying was the truth. That he was alright, that he had started to think about everything logically and rationally, that he was ready for whatever would happen the following day. She forgot and ignored so many crimson red flags, like how dejected he was when everyone once gone, and how insistent he was to get the investigation underway as soon as possible, both clearly unusual moments coming from him, and both signs that he wasn't alright with something, even after she explained her theories. Things that, even without hindsight, she would have normally known were suspicious. But she didn't. And that's what bothered her so much. Because, not only had she subconsciously prioritized the mystery that was presented before her over discussing such an important topic with her partner, but, as much as she detested herself for it, and how much she hated herself for it...

…she thought he could just get over it.

She had not seen him as a person. She had seen him the way a majority of the public saw him: The Ultimate Hope, scared of nothing, daunted by nothing. She had chosen to believe his explanation so readily not only because she wanted to believe he was OK, but because she thought that he was capable of becoming OK by himself and getting over every emotion this situation put him through. She had chosen to ignore the clearly ongoing conflict within him because she, even if it wasn't consciously, had believed that he wasn't going to be affected in the slightest only a day after an event so shocking. And, by choosing to believe this thwarted, easy truth, she had betrayed her own view of the world as a detective, forgetting what was right in front of her because of the most illogical biases. She had betrayed her partner, choosing to ignore his humanity and emotions. And worst of all, she had betrayed herself by going against the years of progress that ha made her into who she was that day.

And that's why, from the moment she hung up that call and began walking out of her home, she strengthened her resolve to achieve the goal that she already thought she had achieved, and prepared to redeem herself for such a grave mistake, even if Makoto, being the kind of person he was, would immediately forgive her if she ever was upfront about her apology. But, most importantly of all, she prepared to wring the truth out of Makoto. Because, if what Togami had said was true, she needed to back him into a corner if she wanted him to talk. 

Before she reached them, she could already hear the two men arguing.

"-you take me for a fool, Naegi?" She heard the voice of the blonde say, with what was most likely an irascible expression on his face.

"O-Of course I'm not doing that, Byakuya!" Makoto exclaimed, his face, now that Kyoko could see it, presenting his regular meekness in a strange mix with uncharacteristic raciness and fear he'd exhibited the day before. While the former heir seemed to take note of her presence, the brownette seemed to be to absorbed by the conversation to realize how close to them she was. "I said that maybe, just maybe, and not because I think you're ignorant or anything like that, you're looking to deep into things! I- Look, OK? I know that how I've acted might seem strange from **your** perspective, but I swear that I'm not lying, or faking thing, or making any excuses! I'm just trying to tell you that, while I really appreciate it, you shouldn't fret this much about how I'm doing! And I'm trying to tell you that you shouldn't have called-"

"Me?" She spoke up, having gone down the last few steps and now standing cross-armed at the bottom of the stairs. "I'd like to argue against that. I actually believe it was quite the intelligent thought from Togami's behalf to call me down here." She frowned at him with the most bluntly angry expression she could manage, just to make 100% sure he knew she was serious. "But that's besides the point. By all means Makoto, continue to explain exactly why I shouldn't have been called to 'interfere'." He shrank at her words, and Kyoko tried to suppress how much it hurt her to see. IF she was being honest, she was slightly mad at him for hiding the truth, but she wasn't truly angry at him. She knew this wasn't a reaction that merited the situation they were in, but she needed to get him to talk as soon as possible, especially with how uncertain the situation upstairs was getting by the second. And if she had to be 'pissed' at him for a couple of minutes to accomplish that quickly, she would gladly do it. For the sake of both him and... Sayaka, who was probably spiraling into even more confusion because of what she revealed to her. 

"Kyoko!" He managed to say, an unnaturally high note in his voice at her arrival. "I- I was just telling Byakuya th-that nothing is wrong here, that me not wanting to go upstairs would just slow us down, a-and it was **really** just necessary for you to be called here..."

The detective only raised an eyebrow at his response. "Yes, he's spoken to me about this already. I would just like to know **why** exactly you think you being with us during the interrogation would 'slow us down'." 

He sighed, in a way looking relieved that she had asked that specific question. "Well, this girl is most likely an Imposter, right? She's trying to impersonate Sayaka. And everyone who knows what happened in the Killing Game, be it through the case files or the TV broadcast, knows that I was... well, the closest person to her. So, if we show up there as a group, she'll focus almost entirely of convincing me her acting is reality, and that would just slow the interrogation down, right? So, I just thought that, if I just stayed down here while you guys asked her your questions, things would move along a lot quicker!" He smiled right at the end, a smile that, even if she wasn't skeptic of every single action of his, Kyoko would have easily noticed was forced. 

It was... a decent enough excuse. An explanation which the blonde, who had heard it first, was clearly opposed to (and was as skeptical of as her). But still, there was an actual argument that he could win or lose there. And the argument itself would remain the same without any new insight. Insight which, if she hadn't been called down, they would not have had at their disposal.

Togami silighed in annoyance at the brownette's explanation. "Naegi, I would say that's a fine idea, but it doesn't even manage to be that. Could you **please** explain why you think that anyone in our position wouldn't want to have the person who knows the most about the person who might be being impersonated by our side during an interrogation? You say you won't be convinced by her words, right? Then what do her efforts, and a couple of extra minutes matter with this Impos-"

"Togami, wait." Kyoko interrupted, asking the blonde look her way confused. "I have something I need to tell you both, and, for the sake of time, I shall put it as bluntly as can: I have found a fact that will throw everything we knew about this case overboard." She made sure to look into Makoto's eyes before continuing. "And by that I mean it's made both of the theories we had present before impossible, and put an even more inane idea at the forefront of speculation."

Makoto looked at her in fear of what she had to say, while Togami's annoyance dissipated as his expression became more puzzled than anything. "And what is it exactly? I doubt you'd bring it up if it wasn't something you thought would be relevant for the conversation, so out with it." While Kyoko did feel slightly angry at Togami for his disrespectful attitude, it wasn't enough to faze her. She was too familiar with it to take it personally anymore.

She breathed in. She knew that, whatever Makoto was going through, what she wanted to say would most likely make it worse. But she knew that, if she wanted to corner him, this would be the thing to do it. So, she exhaled and spoke. "I know for a fact what that girl's identity is. The woman upstairs is Sayaka Maizono."

Exactly how she expected, Makoto was gaping at her in what she could only interpret as horror while, to his side, Togami looked very deep in thought. "So, she really did work with the Ultimate Despair to fake her death. This is quite an... unexpected development, if I do say so myself." Kyoko frowned at his response. The misunderstanding, while certainly irritating, she understood was her fault for not being clear enough.

"I should probably have been more precise in what I meant." She said, making the blonde raise an eyebrow. "I did not mean that she consented to whatever plan was put in place. The girl upstairs, whatever she might or might not have done between the Killing Game and now, is Sayaka Maizono. This girl cannot have been working with any group that might wish us any harm, especially the Remnants. Because I am completely certain that she doesn't have any memories of anything after some time before her untimely demise."

Togami's eyes widened as he took a step back, before composing himself and looking at her dead in the eye. "Are you absolutely sure what you're saying is the case?"

She nodded before speaking. "I have confirmed it by myself with almost 100% certainty. I am quite sure that this is the case." Togami furrowed his brow for a couple of seconds, looking like he wanted to say something, before sighing and adjusting his glasses.

"While this opens up a myriad of possibilities that we absolutely need to speak about, and I am quite insistent that you explain to me in great detail how exactly you have come to this conclusion, there is a more urgent matter we must attend to first, so I shall rely on your word for the moment." He turned to Makoto, who snapped out of his stupor and moved a bit further away from his friend. "So, Makoto, I believe the detective has spoken. The woman upstairs won't try to trick you. In fact, it seems your presence will actually be even more beneficial than before, considering the panic this girl is no doubt in. I don't believe there's any issues here anymore, so why don't we drop this futile discussion and go upstairs to begin the questioning?" He responded, but it didn't really feel like any kind of question. Togami knew exactly what he was doing. This wasn't any sort of answer or explanation, it was a provocation.

And it worked quite well, because Makoto immediately snapped himself out of his horrified state and looked at them both with both desperation and determination shining in his eyes. "No... no that's wrong! Y- Y-You have to be wrong! Th-t-There is no way the girl upstairs is Sayaka! There's just n-no way that's what really happening! It... It has to be a trick! Maybe she- maybe she's just **really** good at her job and managed to fool Kyoko!"

"Do you really have that little faith in me?" She asked him, making Makoto flinch and stare at the floor in shame. "No... that's wrong. There is no way that's the case. You know me and believe in me more than anyone else. You know that I wouldn't just believe the words of that girl in a situation like this, nor would I make this heavy an assertion without significant proof. You know I would find a way to discover this girl's true self outside of idle talk. This isn't you not believing in me... this is you making excuses. Because, for some reason, you don't want to see Maizono. And you don't want us to know why that is."

Makoto looked at her, completely and utterly terrified. He tried to spit out some fraction of a rebuttal, but it seemed like the detective had hit the nail square in the head, because he could only manage small stutters in response. "I-I- you'r- I ca- I'm n- not t- I-" Kyoko, who knew this game of cat and mouse they were playing with his feelings was about to end, walked up to Makoto until she was right in front of him. 

"Makoto." She cupped his cheek, making the man stop his ranting to look up at her. "I know that something is going on. How you reacted during our talk with Hina, your insistence in getting everything done with yesterday, how tired you appeared yesterday, what Byakuya told me happened in your second visit to the alleyway, and now this. The only reason I didn't insist more on talking about it was because my mind was too preoccupied with this case, which I know realize was a gigantic lapse in judgement in my behalf." Makoto looked like he wanted to refute that last statement, but she was too fast in continuing for him to do that. "I care about you, Makoto. More than anyone else on this Earth. I know I don't say it often, but that's an unchangeable truth. And seeing you hurting like this, drowning in your own feelings without asking for help, it hurts me more than anyone or anything alive could. You've carried the weight of my pain and my sorrow, no matter how heavy it became, for so long. So please, Makoto. Let me repay just a sliver of the debt that I owe you." Kyoko didn't normally show a lot of emotion. She was quite adept at hiding what she thought or felt. However, she made sure that there was no restraint put onto the concern that plagued her eyes as she stared into her partner's.

The brownette sighed in something akin to disappointment, most likely in himself, as he removed her hand from his face. A sad smile was on his face as he spoke. "Ha... how did I think I could hide anything from you?" 

"So." Said Togami, the air of superiority and the urgency you would usually expect from him in a situation like this mostly gone, standing next to them with his arms crossed as he looked at Makoto expectantly. "Does this mean you are finally ready to talk about what's been holding you back?"

"I- yeah. I think I am." The other boy answered, already looking quite ashamed of his previous behavior.

Togami then continued. "Very well, I suppose I'll just go ahead and ask the obvious question: Why are you so reluctant to be in this girl's presence now that she's awake?" Makoto once again sighed and looked away from the two people present.

"I... guess I was... scared." He began, both her and the blonde listening intently. "I- I'm scared of wha- **who** I'll find upstairs. I- I lied yesterday when I said I would look at things more logically, but that wasn't just an excuse for us not to talk about how I felt. I- I never believed, for even a second, that that girl was an imposter, because... because I just couldn't. Deep down, I... hoped with all of my heart that the girl we found yesterday was the real Maizono. But... the moment I started believing that, it felt like, in a way, every part of me was fighting... fighting to reject that notion. Because... that would meant that I would have to face her and... I **really** didn't want that."

While Kyoko only looked on, with concern building up more and more within her mind, Togami retained a thoughtful and neutral expression as he spoke. "And do you know why that is? Why you are so reluctant to do that?" 

Makoto looked at the ground with even more shame than before. "I- Y-You guys remember the beginning. O-Of the Killing Game. You guys know how close we were during that time. And you guys saw how I reacted, both to what happened to her and... what she did to get there. For a moment, I truly believed that she had lied to me from the very beginning. That every chat, every heart-to-heart, everything we had was just one giant lie. But..." He looked at Kyoko for a split second before he once again avoided direct eye contact. "...what you told me after the trial... that she tried to make it up to me... that she regretted her actions at the very end... and that, maybe, before the motives made her do what she did, she truly did want to become my friend... I was still distraught, but... that helped me a lot, not only during the... well, grieving period, but also to remember the short time we spent together during the Killing Game, as well as the few memories I could recover from before the brainwashing, as something to cherish, rather than... a stupid mistake I made due to my naivety."

"But something happened, didn't it?" She asked. While she was touched that her words had so much impact beyond their desired effect, it did not make her any less wary of where Makoto was headed.

"Yeah." Makoto looked, if it was possible, even more ashamed now. "After what happened with Junko, and I started dedicating myself to this... 'fight' between Hope and Despair, I... began to consider it more. The idea that... she might have been using me, ever since the day we met. Still, it was always a really small thought on the back of my mind, and I could always bat it away by thinking about what Kyoko said after the First Trial. That, since she was dead, we would never really now for sure, and that the reality of the situation was affected by how we viewed it. And I wanted to believe in her, so... I always went with that she wasn't actually using me."

Togami nodded, seemingly beginning to understand the situation at the same time as she was. "But that change yesterday, didn't it? There was the sudden possibility that she might have been alive, and I am quite certain in the assumption that this specific dilemma is what didn't sit well with you all throughout all of what's happened."

"Yes, that is... exactly what bothered me." Makoto sighed and continued. "When I saw her for the first time... well, first I had to process the shock, but... after that, while driving back home I- I started considering it again. And when... when Kyoko said that... she might have worked with the Remnants, I- it was just too much. Because, even if I wanted her being alive to be the truth here, I just... couldn't handle the idea that she might have betrayed me on that high a level. And I didn't talk during the discussion of the theory yesterday because I... well, I knew I would get heated again, and I didn't want to seem too affected by the topic." He gritted his teeth before continuing. "But I... guess I'm getting off topic here. The reason for all of this is... that I'm terrified. Of the truth. Of what she actually thought of me. All these years, I've tried to convince myself that she actually cared, but there was never a way to know for sure. And now, I suddenly have the chance to ask her... and I'm terrified of what the answer might be, now that there is no need to have someone loyal or someone who is easily manipulated like before." 

While he spilled everything, she and Togami just stood there, not daring to interrupt him. While Kyoko was quite sorely tempted, seeing his breathing become more erratic and his voice more shaky over the course of the explanation hurting her heart in the worst ways imaginable, she knew that he needed to get all of this out into the open. They both knew that. Because there was no way they could advance anything otherwise. And because Makoto would continue to be like this if they didn't let him, and she knew for certain neither of them wanted that, even if Togami's motivation might not be the purest or most caring.

Makoto gritted his teeth even more as he went on. "A-And I know it's hypocritical of me, I know how much this 'believe in others' motto seems to weaken by me feeling this so intensely and I **know** it's really stupid for me to fret over something like this this much, but- I don't know why but I still feel this! And... worst of all... I- I know that, deep down, I don't really... **care** whether or not she's with the Remnants, because if... she really wanted to use me since the very beginning, if she planned ahead on how to manipulate ever since we met, even before we knew that we had entered the Killing Game, it would... be like... like proving Junko right! That maybe, **maybe** the killings **were** our partly our own fault, and not just the product of of the memory wiping and her motives! That someone that devious could exist... I don't think I could... tha- that I could-"

"That's enough." Togami suddenly stepped in. Kyoko was certainly startled by it, and Makoto seemed like he was the same on that regard, staring up at the blonde, his eyes still lost in the dark place his thoughts had dug him into. "I've had enough of your mindless blabbering. Christ, Makoto, have you any idea of how stupid you sound?" This certainly enraged the detective, who immediately stared glaring at the blonde, but the brownette beside her beat her to responding, looking even more dejected. 

"Byakuya, I know I-"

"No, Makoto, you apparently don't know absolutely anything at all right now. Judging from your words, you are in a state of mind in which anything and everything that comes out of your mind will be nothing but idiotic, mindless blabbering. So, I am going to ask you a question that will hopefully kickstart any sort of coherent thought process within the singular neuron you call a brain:" Byakuya spat out, looking disgusted at the very fact that he was in the other man's presence. "What, exactly, does this change?"

Makoto now looked baffled, clearly not getting what he meant, and only managed to stutter a single sound out. "H-Huh?" Kyoko, meanwhile, managed to calm herself down. She could see where the other man was headed with his harsh words, and decided not to intervene.

Togami crossed his arms and continuing glaring as he went on. "What does this change? What about your worldview does Sayaka being uncaring, cold and manipulative change? What part of your rhetoric does this being the case alter? I hung up our classmate's corpse just to entertain myself and verbally abused and attacked everyone inside our class every single time I spoke, and you still chose to 'believe' in me. You saw Ludenberg kill two men you considered friends without any remorse and almost sentence everyone else to death, and I recall that you once admitted to me that you still considered her a victim of the Killing Game **and** , for whatever reason, a friend. The Remnants of Class 77th had committed more atrocities than almost anyone on this Earth, and you nonetheless attempted to rehabilitate them all. And yet, you start to crumble to dust over your doubt of a single woman's identity? If **this** is the strength of your conviction, if this is the strength of the hope that managed to crush the Ultimate Despair... well, it makes me doubt whether Junko Enoshima was all that powerful."

"Byakuya, I'm-"

"No... that's not what's happening here, is it? This isn't just about Maizono." He asked Makoto, who was looking more, and also somehow less, confused every second that passed. "This is about how this 'war' between Hope and Despair began for you. When our first Class Trial ended. When you decided that the murders weren't actually our fault, and that Junko's rhetoric that despair all originated naturally from within us was her way of disguising that she was heavily pushing us to do it. Your terror is nothing but a consequence of her death being so thoroughly ingrained into yoru beginnings as the 'Ultimate Hope', am I mistaken in my reasoning?" He waited for the brownette to give him a slow, mechanic nod before continuing. 

"Well, listen to me, and listen to me closely here, Makoto: this should not change anything. Whether she was a master manipulator who didn't care about you in the slightest or not, she still would not have done what she did if Enoshima didn't create and kickstart the Killing Game. And whether she did or didn't lie to you the whole time, this shouldn't change the conviction you've earned throughout the years, nor should it change the grander scheme of what we all fought for during the Tragedy. And most importantly, this shouldn't change the idiotically large amount of optimism that you've proven time and time again is much more than just talk."

Makoto looked flabbergasted, sentiment which Kyoko could relate to slightly. It was certainly an abnormal sight to see Togami being so openly... supportive? She honestly didn't know how to describe what he was doing. But still, it managed to completely snap Makoto out of his previous emotional state, and made him once again attempt to form a full sentence. "Byakuya... I- do you really-" Still, it seemed the other man wasn't finished quite just yet. 

"Spare me whatever speech, apology or show of gratitude you have prepared, Makoto, I don't have any desire to hear it. **Yes** , I mean it! I wouldn't have wasted so many of my words on you if I didn't!" He now looked more annoyed than anything. "And now, I am going to tell you **exactly** what you're going to do. You're going to snap yourself out of this simply **ridiculous** state of mind, first of all. Then, you are going to wipe away the useless tears that are starting to form, go upstairs alongside us, help us in interrogating Maizono, and ask her whatever questions you have to ask her. And after **that** , no matter what she gives you as an answer, you'll process it, deal with that reality and help her regardless, because not doing exactly that would be a betrayal to all of the moronic ideals you stand for, and I will not tolerate you backtracking that easily. Especially after spending two years fighting for your 'message'." He adjusted his glasses before finishing. "Have I made myself clear, or do I need to repeat myself?"

Makoto, who, up to this point, just like the blonde had said, had been starting to tear up, quickly straightened up and wiped her eyes, before looking up at the other man with a genuine smile they had not seen since the day before. "Yeah... I got it all loud and clear, Byakuya!" He exclaimed, some of his usual excitement slowly reentering his tone. And while Kyoko was, quite obviously, extremely glad that Makoto had begun to return to his usual self, she still had some things she needed to get out of her chest.

"Makoto." She began holding one of his hands, the brownette turning to her as she spoke. "I do **not** want a repeat of this. Ever. If you are ever feeling anything that amounts to even a **third** of what you've been feeling recently, I want you to come to me immediately, no matter the shame or guilt you feel for having those emotions. I'm your partner, and the 'comforting each other' cannot be a one way road. I want you to know that I'll always listen, because I cherish you, and I just cannot allow anything like this to happen again."

Makoto once again looked like he was about to burst into tears, before seemingly reminding himself of Togami's earlier command and wiping away the hint of tears. He then smiled at her even more widely than he had before. "Right... thank you Kyoko. It... it really means a lot." 

Now, Kyoko considered herself to be a woman with a great amount of self-restraint. But she would, until the end of time, vehemently fight whoever told her that she could have resisted the urge to kiss him right then and there. Because she couldn't, and she certainly didn't try to. 

They stayed like that for a few short moments, halfway through which Makoto got out of his shock and returned the sudden kiss, before they heard a loud groan from their left. And, after they separated, they looked towards Togami, who was quite obviously the one behind interrupting the moment.

"Could hold off on submerging yourself in your wonderful little world of romance while you are both in my presence **and** in the middle of an investigation?" He snapped, making Makoto turn beet-red. And while Kyoko **was** quite miffed at him for interrupting their small moment, she acknowledged he had a point. While she wouldn't say the time they spent downstairs was necessarily 'wasted' but, now that the conversation was over, they needed to return to Maizono as quickly as possible. 

"Yeah... you're right. We have a job we need to do. I've wasted enough of our time." Makoto said, a determined and (dare she say it) hopeful look in his eyes, which, while it managed to make the blonde slightly less annoyed, it still made him scoff at the headmaster. 

"Yeah, yeah, save your apologies for **never** and let's all go upstairs already." The blonde replied, impatience and annoyance somehow managing to shine even brighter in his eyes.

She squeezed Makoto's hand, which she still hadn't stopped holding, in a show of reassurance, which he quickly returned in kind. The brownette in question looked at the top of the stairs in complete seriousness before answering the other man.

"Yeah. Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hullo... i have returned on sunday like a narcoleptic jesus... and i bring all of you chapter... the fifth... fifth... one? idk man. and here we have self reflection... makoto being a dummy... makoto talking about why he dummy.... byakuya telling him 'no more dummy'... and uhhhh.... kyoko loving makoto even though he still kinda dummy.... woooooooo......  
> ANYWAY, sorry if some parts are subpar, it was kinda hard to get inspiration for this chapter at first, on account of me being back into an enviroment that brings back... not very good memories. That's why some parts might feel rushed. It's a lot of work, and I'm still not very adaptable to working in some places, as well as how I do go from the draft to the uploaded version. Working on it tho!  
> Were you awaiting the link? WAIT NO LONGER, MY CHILD: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPVtf5mZhfdU8olhxLEtXg I know it's a channel and not a specific video, but it's because Wubcake just has TOO MUCH gold in their channel. Just sort my most popular and watch the video at the top left, you'll get it. Sub to them, they're such an amazing voice actor AND a very funny individual.  
> Finally, I want to thank everyone for 250 hits. I know that it's getting kind of repetitive thanking you bozos every gosh darn chapter, but it's a pretty big milestone that I just really felt the need to address. So thank you!  
> And as a (very, very small and insignificant) gift of gratitude, I shall tell you that the next chapter contains a completely fresh POV, one we haven't visited before. And, if you have been paying the slightest amount of attention, you know EXACTLY who I'm talking about.  
> Anyways, until we get to another long awaited confrontation, I bid all of you adieu! Compliments, criticisms and questions are all accepted and encouraged! Pop off and stay safe!


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